The Ribbon Waltz
by Virgins-and-Surgeons
Summary: Sometimes, I wonder why I get out of bed in the morning." Inju, just a thug that got herself caught in the clutches of a possessive and often moderately abusive Sexta. Can't say that she can complain; nothing like meeting the male version of yourself.
1. It's A Wonderful World

**Well, hello all. First ever Bleach fanfic, so feel free to say what you'd like. I'm just happy this long-ass first chapter is finally done. The first chapter is introductions; those are never as interesting to read or to write as the rest of it. So sit with me through the semi-boring first chapter, 'kay?**

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Walking down the street to the place she loathed and a semi-permanent half frown on her face, Inju Zetsumei glared at anyone deciding to stare at the hazel-eyed, black-haired teenage girl currently stalking to Karakura High in the most unpleasant of moods. "This goddamn skirt is rape bait." She growled, tugging at the offending piece of clothing. Thigh level; what the hell did the girls around here do about rapists? "Maybe they all know Karakura karate or some shit." She continued to complain and rant to herself, having no iPod to speak of because poor bitches can't afford iPods. "Fuck. I hope it's not all 'The entire town worships a demon god and must sacrifice people' in this damn place." Inju stated to herself, staring back over her shoulder to make sure there wasn't some cleaver-wielding executioner walking after her. Nope; but if she heard any cicadas, wedding bells or sobbing, Inju was running like a bitch.

Turning her eyes back to the road ahead of her, the woman reflected on her shit morning, and the reason her day was probably going to be equal shit. Waking up to a screaming alarm and trying to hit snooze, only to knock down a fucking spit cup onto her head. Nasty habit Inju had picked up; chewing tobacco. Nastier than smoking, she'd decided after pouring out around fifteen soda cans and random cups full of chew. And when you accidentally took a swig of one, it ruined the entire fucking day. Happened more than once. Probably going to happen after her first day too. That stain on the carpet from her morning tobacco cup escapade wasn't coming out either, probably. Not that Inju was going to try and clean it; who the fuck cleaned something they could ignore? One cold-ass shower later, fucking apartment building must have been built in the fifties because none of their shit worked consistently, and she was staring incredulously at a short porno skirt required in the female school uniform. "You're fucking joking. Who the HELL wears these things? I ain't no fuckin' porn star. People are fucking crazy."

And here she was, in a porn star skirt, walking to some dumpy little high school in a dumpy little town with porno rapist bait skirts for the female students. "This day's just going to be the BEST DAY EVER!" She exclaimed to nobody in particular, half-screaming it. Sarcasm dripped from her words, but apparently, some people don't get sarcasm.

"I know, right?!" A chick half-screamed right behind the dark-haired sarcastic teen, her tone happy and joyful. Inju must have jumped fifteen feet in the damn air; if she'd been chewing, probably would have swallowed the shit and died right there. Turning around very, very slowly (Could be a psychotic killer or rapist, after all), The once-brooding woman stared at a happy looking girl with long orange-colored hair, a warm smile and the biggest rack Inju had ever seen. Men probably fell at her feet, going into seizures. "…Hello? Who the fuck are you?" The mystery girl blinked, finally opening grayish eyes. Large and doe; this girl was the epitome of what men wanted. Cynicism kicked in immediately for the transfer student. _She's probably a whore. _That's what Inju had learned back in dear old Kyoto; pretty women are bitches and whores.

"Oh! I'm sorry; you said today was going to be a good day and I was JUST thinking that and I thought it was funny so I wanted to let you know that I thought today was going to be a good day too!" The girl said in one breath, combining at least three or four sentences like it was nothing. Inju must have had a stupid look on her face, because this random mystery girl with huge lungs blinked and held out her hand suddenly.  
"Hi! I'm Orihime! Orihime Inoue! What's your name? Are you new?" Inju blinked, shaking her hand tentatively before retracting it to her side. "I…Inju Zetsumei. And yeah; I just…moved here." This Inoue chick smiled like a fucking airhead, the kind of girl men took advantage of. Scratch whore; this kid probably didn't even know what went where. "SO!" Inoue said suddenly, making Inju jump again. Bad day, for fuckin' sure. "Are you going to school too?" She blinked, as if remembering something. Inju glanced at her watch; ten minutes to the bell. Like she gave a fu-"WE'RE GONNA BE LATE!!" Orihime screeched, grabbing Inju by the wrist and dragging her along the road, the dragged moody chick not recognizing what was happening for a few moments before tearing her arm from Orihime's grip. Like fucking steel. "I can walk!" Inju spat, marching off in a pissed way. Orihime caught up, jogging slightly to keep up. "You're a new student? That's great! You'll love Karakura! There're so many fun people here, and there's good food, and the school system is awesome, and-" Inju tuned the rest out, turning to go into the school building itself. How the hell this chatty bitch snuck up behind her, she'd probably never know. Orihime followed, continuing to talk a mile a minute about fish and sailboats and God-knows-what. Orihime smiled, stopping her high-speed monologue and looking right in Inju's face.

"You've got to meet my friends! Oh, but we have class…well, you can eat with us at lunch!" Before Inju got a chance to speak, Orihime pretty much shoved her into the office saying something about getting a schedule, before running off to her first class. Inju blinked. "What…the hell was that?" She asked nobody in particular, before noting that an annoyed office woman stared at her crossly. "What do you need?" Inju immediately shut down, glaring back hotly at the old woman with the pinched face. "Transfer. Schedule." The woman tsked and dug around in nameless stacks of files and papers. "Name?" "Inju Zetsumei." The woman clicked a couple things on her computer, before blinking at what came up.

"Former residence: Kyoto, Japan. Transferred for reasons of-" She was cut off as Inju spoke loudly, interrupting her. "Look, I just need my schedule! Not a lecture!"

The office woman tsked again, handing Inju her schedule. "You'll get a tour from the class ambassador." "I don't need one, thanks." "Tell him that yourself." They went back and forth, before the office door opened and a semi-nasally voice cut in. "If you'll excuse me, I'm very busy and I would like to get this over with, Zetusmei-san." '_Oh God, please don't let that PMS-sounding guy be the ambassador. Please let it be Orihime or someone like that, someone who I won't cold-cock into a locker'. _Inju turned around, staring directly at the definition of 'nerd'. Short black hair, square-rimmed glasses, and a serious non-fun look on his face. If Inoue was the epitome of what men wanted, then this guy was the epitome of what women laughed at.

"My name is Uryuu Ishida. Let's get this finished and done with, Zetsumei-san." He turned and began walking, leaving Inju to scowl and catch up. On the tour, Uryuu pointed out various things that were highly obvious from the beginning and something Inju could have figured out on her own, but hey; she wasn't in class. Which seemed to be Algebra, from her schedule.

"And this is the gymnasium, where we hold pep assemblies. I doubt someone like _you_ would understand the importance of school spirit." He sneered the word 'you', pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. Inju's eye twitched, her hands flexing. Them's fighting words where she came from. "Yeah, I guess I wouldn't. After all, I have a life." She shot back. He seemed to ignore her, continuing on to show the various stupid things she didn't care about. "I would advise you don't vandalize the side of the building. Your kind has just finished tagging it." He snipped. Inju had to consciously snap her hand back from grabbing the back of his collar and jerking him around. '_New school, new school. Don't do it again; you just got here. You're not in Kyoto anymore, Inju'. _She repeated to herself mentally, settling for words. "If you're gonna fuckin' badmouth me, then I'm out of here." Turning on her heel, she blew off whatever he was talking about as she left the gym and reentered the hallways. Easily finding her room thanks to the wonderfully NOT AT ALL CONFUSING room numbering system, she made it to second hour somewhat on time.

"Ms. Ochi's English." She stated outside the door amid the bustle of the students, walking in. The teacher looked up to Inju, blinking. "Oh, who are you? New student?" Inju gave a nod. "New student." Ms. Ochi shrugged, pointing to an empty seat in the back corner of the room. "Right next to Kurosaki." Rolling her shoulders, Inju traced her path to the desk. A hand caught hers; catching her attention and alerting her to a certain person she couldn't exactly say she was _ecstatic _to see again.

"Inju!! You're in my class too!" Orihime half-squealed, Inju raising her eyebrows. "Uh…yeah…yay…" Orihime didn't catch the unenthused tone her captive held, now looking back to an orange-haired thug looking kid. He seemed to be scowling, frowning or just PMSing. "Ichigo; look at my new friend I was telling you about earlier!" Inju blinked. _Since when were we friends again? _The Ichigo kid seemed to look her up and down, sizing her up. It got really annoying after around ten or so seconds.

"I really that interestin'?" She deadpanned, staring him down. Kurosaki looked up, scowling. "Hell no. Just making sure you don't cause trouble." Inju had to suppress a snort. "Oh, you think a kid like you could take me? What a laugh. Some small town boy really scares me." His scowl deepened, Orihime letting go of Inju's wrist as the starting bell rang. Inju dropped her shit in the empty seat behind Kurosaki Ichigo, as a blond freak sat on Ichigo's right. He had a remarkably stupid haircut, a freaky smile and was staring at Kurosaki. Kurosaki didn't appreciate. He gave a glance back to Inju, who was now sitting in back and thinking of ways to pass the time for the next year. One year, and she'd be gone. Not that she planned to live long anyway; that's not the code. Live rough, die young. Old age didn't suit Inju's tastes. Especially not the dia-

"Hello! And what is your name, lovely lady?" The blond kid's voice cut her thoughts like an annoyingly high-pitched jackhammer. She turned her eyes to Blondie, staring at him.

"…Inju. Inju Zetsumei." Blondie blinked. "Inju? Ribbon? That's a lovely name." He didn't comment on her last name; Inju herself hated it. It was a freaky last name; more suited for a goth or an emo than for a thug. "Uh…yeah, thanks?" Kurosaki shoved him slightly, snapping his attentions away from the confused and creeped-out Inju. "Quit talking to the PMS freak." He stated, destroying any thanks about to leave Inju's lips. "Look who's talking. Someone seems to be on the rag."

Blondie giggled, Ichigo looked like he was about to hit her. "My name is Shinji Hirako. Happy to meet you." Blondie said back to her, Inju giving an affirmatory nod. Her short black hair was cut shoulder-level raggedly, as if someone did it with a knife in a hurry. Bright hazel eyes stared off in space through boredom, a hand supporting her chin. Her body was thin and muscular, pointing at there having been some past formal training or experience in fighting or gymnastics. Skin tone was slightly tan, not enough to suggest regularly going out in the daytime. She'd be pretty if she weren't a bitch.

Class was uneventful, and third hour was similar. Finally, lunch rolled around and Inju found herself being dragged by a certain hyperactive girl towards the roof. Orihime stopped suddenly, nearly sending the inattentive Inju into the lockers.

"Inju-chan! This is my friend, Tatsuki!" Inju blinked at the girl now staring oddly at her and Orihime. To be sure, they weren't two girls that looked like they would hang out together. "Hey. Arisawa Tatsuki." She finally said, smiling and holding her hand out. Inju wrenched her hand free of Orihime's grip and shook Tatsuki's hand. "Inju Zetsumei. It's a pleasure." Tatsuki blinked, pulling her hand back when the handshake was through. "Firm grip. You been in karate or something?" She queried, looking slightly curious. Orihime cocked her head like a confused puppy, and Inju could have sworn she heard someone run into a locker.

"Uh…no, nothing…formal."

Like she'd be able to tell them what she had done back in Kyoto. They'd act like all the others; start avoiding her. Better to wait for that to happen until later in the year. Maybe tomorrow.

"Ah, well you just looked like it. Sorry." Tatsuki stated, her tone slightly disappointed. Must have wanted someone to spar with or something. Inju waved it off. "Don't worry about it; happens all the time." She took a look at Tatsuki for the first time. They were built similar, lean and muscular. "What about you?" Inju queried, looking for her locker. 359; should be on the way to the roof. Tatsuki grinned slightly at the question. "Karate. I'm the number two of Japan." Her tone betrayed obvious pride in the accomplishment; it meant she was dangerous.

'_Shit, I'd be proud as hell if I had the title. 'Cept I'm pretty sure my kind of fighting'd be frowned on in competitions'_. Inju pondered offhandedly, running a hand through her short and ragged black hair. "Damn. So that means ya could pretty much kick anybody's ass in the entire school, huh?" Her statement seemed to make Tatsuki grin a bit more. "Yeah, I guess I could." Her face darkened a moment, and the grin lessened. "Well…nah, not really. There's one guy that can beat me." She stated, looking down the hallway. Orihime smiled again, alerting Inju. "So…who is this tough guy then?" Inju queried nonchalantly, leaning against someone's locker. Tatsuki was about to speak when a semi-familiar voice cut her off.

"Yo, Tatsuki! Orihime!"

Inju sighed, glancing listlessly sideways and down the hall. She spotted Kurosaki waving slightly to them, a girl trailing behind him. Ichigo's face darkened as soon as he spotted a similarly scowling Inju. The girl behind Kurosaki whispered something to him, short black hair bobbing slightly as she leaned up to him.

'_She's pretty. And…she's got purple eyes?'_

Inju blinked at the oddity of her eye color, only to realize the two were coming to a stop in front of them. Now the black-haired girl was giving her the stink eye, looking her up and down. She met Inju's black stare and quickly looked to Orihime.

"You. The PMS one." Ichigo stated, obvious animosity between the two of them.

"You. The PMS one." Inju aped him, sharing the same expression. She wasn't going to back down from this kid, even if he thought he was bad. Bad is not small-town badass. Bad is bringing a knife to a gunfight and not dying.

"SO!!" Orihime said way too loud and way too suddenly, causing Inju and Ichigo to jump three feet in the air. Everyone stared at her for a moment, before she started speaking again. "It's lunchtime, and we've missed some of i-WE'VE MISSED SOME OF LUNCH!!" Some sort of horrific epiphany seemed to come to her, and she tried to drag Inju off again.

"Hey hey HEY!!" Inju exclaimed, getting her wrist free again and stalking to her locker. She dug into it, dragging out something she really needed right about now. Pulling out a small can of chew, she got a pinch and shoved it in before hiding her shit again, right as the group walked past her.

"Come on or we're leaving you." Ichigo growled, obviously annoyed she was coming along at all. "Suck one." Inju growled back, her words muffled only to a very slight extent. She turned and walked after them, quickly inducted into the Orihime steel vice grip again and dragged along to the roof. On the way, they picked up some gay looking guy with feathers on his eyebrows, along with a bald guy that was packing a bokuto. They glanced at her as well, as she ignored them fully. Inju Zetsumei had her chew; very little could ruin the euphoric moment.

Arriving on the roof, finally, she was dragged to a corner already having a small group there. Wonderful. More people to meet. Among them was a huge Mexican guy, some white haired kid that looked like he was in middle school and had the most pissy stare Inju had ever seen on a kid, a red haired guy that had his hair up in a pineapple 'do and tattooed eyebrows, and a woman with the biggest rack Inju had ever seen. Trumped Orihime, and that was a near universal impossibility. AND URYUU ISHIDA, JOY TO THE FUCKING WORLD. He spotted her at once, and the both of them gave their own versions of the expression reading, 'Aw fuck, it's you again'. Ishida pushed up his glasses, Inju's scowl was brought from the dead.

_Good mood gone, thanks you bastard._

Inju thudded down as far away from Ishida as possible, on the other side of baldy. Only then did she realize that she hadn't brought a lunch, and was now lunchless. Orihime picked up on it like fucking lightning, shoving some oddly-coloured rice and chicken-thing mix into her hands.

"Try some! I made it myself, and you don't have anything else to eat so I thought I'd share with you!" She chirped, pulling out a _second_ bowl of the exact same thing.

_What…the hell…_ Inju thought to herself, staring at Orihime and then to her newly acquired mystery meal. Everyone else was making a face suggesting that it was an ill-advised idea to eat this mystery concoction. Fuck them; she was damn hungry. Couldn't be that horrible, could it? Getting her own chopsticks from Orihime, '_why the HELL does she have a second pair of everything'_, Inju took a bite amid the stares of everyone.

She immediately turned a lovely shade of yellowish green, hacking and coughing as she accidentally swallowed the hellish food amalgamation.

"What…the HELL…was that?!" Inju hacked and coughed, getting a drink from the bottle of water she'd bought earlier. Orihime smiled, unperturbed by the horrific reaction to the food.

"Rice, chicken, soy sauce, chili pepper, fish, mayonnaise and some bananas, for consistency!"

Inju turned a deeper yellowish green, setting the food aside. "I'm done. Thank you Orihime." The girl seemed unawares of the horrible taste, eating hers like it was candy. Everyone just stared, as Inju chugged water like it was going out of style.

"Well…anyway…who the hell is she?" Baldy pointed at her, getting ignored. Ichigo shrugged, letting Orihime do introductions.

"This is Inju Zetsumei, a new student from some other city! Where are you from, Inju?" "Kyoto." "Inju is from Kyoto!!" She announced, as if nobody else could hear the choked answer. Looking at Ichigo, she let him take the part of introducing everyone else.

"Alright, Inju. I'm Ichigo Kurosaki, you know that. This is-" Purple-eyed girl cut him off, announcing her name. "Rukia Kuchiki. It's nice to meet you." She motioned to pineapple, and he spoke. "Renji Abarai. That's Ikkaku Madarame and Yumichika Ayasegawa." Baldy and Feathers glanced to her at their names, before ignoring Inju as much as she was ignoring them. Only passing glances were exchanged between herself and whitey ten-year-old, who she found was named Toshiro Hitsugaya and who actually did belong here with the rest of them. Surprising enough. Now, huge rack chick didn't just say hi like everyone else. She grabbed the unprepared Inju into a crushing hug against her chest, not letting the flailing kid go.

"Rangiku Matsumoto! It's good to see another girl in the group!"

Tatsuki had said she'd eat with friends down on the grounds, so there were only four women in a group of seven men. After Inju was released from Matsumoto's hug of suffocating death, she was acquainted with the Mexican guy, who was really fucking quiet. "Sado Yasutora." He said, his voice deep. Inju shook hands with him and all the guys, merely giving the women nods.

"Inju Zetsumei, like Orihime said."

Ichigo attempted to introduce Ishida, when the both of them cut him off.

"We've met." They both stated in a growling monotone, ignoring each other's existences. Ichigo just blinked and dropped it.

Orihime, at about that time, must have noticed the slight bulge of Inju's lip because she pointed it out to everyone. "What is that, Inju? In your mouth." Immediately, Inju cursed the airhead for pointing it out.

"'S nothin'." She stated, hoping they'd drop it. Kurosaki wouldn't.

"That looks like chewing tobacco." He stated, causing everyone to lean in and stare more. Inju turned her head away from them. "Gum." "Then why aren't you chewing it?" "Because it's got no flavor. Now fuck off."

Someone grabbed her face and pulled her in close. It was feathers dude; Yumichika or whatever. He took a quick sniff of her breath and let her go, practically tossing her back with a disgusted look on his face.

"Ladies shouldn't chew tobacco; it's very unbecoming of a woman." He stated, as a dazed Inju lost the slight tint of her face and scowled.

"Yeah? Well ain't you just the authority on femininity. Go fuck off, feathers." She spat out the wad of chew at his feet, causing him to scoot back to avoid getting any on him.

"Disgusting! Your habits are as dirty as your mouth." Yumichika huffed, as Inju spat over the side of the building and took a drink to swish around her mouth.

"Yeah, fuck you too buddy." Inju growled, now ignoring him to talk with a slightly worried Orihime. Probably didn't want Inju being mean to all her friends or some shit. She changed her glance to Pineapple. Renji. Whatever. He was talking to Rukia and Ichigo, more or less whispering about something. Something that was very obviously not allowed for her to hear, judging how quickly they stopped when they saw her staring. Just before she could ask, Ichigo jumped like someone had started screaming in his ear, even though Inju didn't hear anything. Rukia and Renji jumped too, as did Orihime. Ichigo looked down at something on his belt that he hid from her view, before starting to move around.

"Bathroom!" Ichigo half-shouted, jumping up and running off the roof and inside the building with the two he'd been speaking with. Inju blinked. _'What the hell just happened?' _she asked herself, quickly looking at the group. Madarame and Ayasegawa were avoiding meeting her eyes, Hitsugaya was ignoring everything while focusing on a phone and Matsumoto was trying to change the topic of interest.

"Inju-chan! Where do you live? Is it in town?" She inquired, moving to sit on her knees as her chest bounced with the movement.

_'When the fuck did I become Inju-chan to the female population?'_

"Uh, yeah. It's the Falling Apartments Complex, edge of town." Inju answered, half embarrassed she had to admit being too cheap to afford living anywhere other than an apartment complex named 'Falling Apartments'. Matsumoto blinked.

"That doesn't sound like a safe place to live." "Believe me, it's not." They both exchanged answers, Inju already realizing she didn't have smokes either. Dammit; need to find someone that'd sell some to her. Great. Kyoto, you could find anything if you looked hard enough and knew the right people. From smokes to coke, as one of her favorite haunts' employees always said. Not saying that it'd be cheap; but it'd be there.

"-ju-chan!" A voice snapped her from her reverie. Matsumoto was waving a hand in her face.

"N-neh?" Inju queried stupidly, trying to recover and not look like she wasn't paying attention. Matsumoto huffed, but smiled and spoke again.

"Lunch is over, Inju-chan." She stated, as Orihime glanced to the door and started smiling. Inju stared over to the door and noted that Kurosaki was back, out of breath but otherwise fine. Why was Orihime staring at him with doe eyes anyway? Nevermind; it didn't matter. Inju stood up, following the group back into the school.

The rest of the classes were uneventful; some homework, some reading. Neither of which Inju was planning on doing. She was walking out the front doors when Orihime snapped onto her wrist again, smiling at her. Inju noted how Orihime always looked happy; something the dark-haired girl somewhat envied. And that was odd, actually; Inju didn't want for much. Well, other than a working apartment. Didn't want for much in the soul and personality department.

"Inju-chan! Do you like Karakura so far?" she looked up at the moodier girl, a questioning glint in her eyes. Inju was tempted to tell her no. REALLY tempted. But that look killed her tell the truth; some things couldn't be said to some people. Orihime was too nice to tell the harsh truth to, and the hesitation to say the gruesome truth really bothered Inju. Since when did she hesitate?

"Y…yeah. It's…it's great here." Inju replied, somewhat shakily. If Orihime noticed, she didn't say anything. She looked happy that Inju liked it there, and began to drag her off somewhere speaking a mile a minute. Inju just half-smiled at the girl's eagerness, letting Orihime lead her wherever she felt like.

_**"Yeah…and I never could have known it at the time … but this little town was going to be the death of me."**_

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**((****AN: The first chapter (the boring one) is DONE! The next part should be done soon, depending on how much free time I get at school. Reviews make me smile, flames make me giggle. Toodles!))  
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	2. Thuggish

**((AN: Well, grand chapter two and I still have no idea about the pairing in this. Votes would be nice, if anyone out there has an opinion. I've got two or three I'm leaning to, but if I get a good suggestion from you, I might just use it and have a nice little dedication author's note section. Now remember, I'm toying around with perspectives. Once I find one I like, I'll stick with that one.))**

The next day at school was about the same, me just getting dragged to death by Orihime. It was around the fourth day that I really screwed up. Around and around, she introduced me to so many people over those days. This unfortunately included Chizuru, the raging lesbian that felt Orihime up and proceeded to get foot bitchslapped by Tatsuki, before turning on me. She might have brushed her fingers against the front of my uniform before reaction instincts kicked in and I used my elbow to slam her backwards, courtesy of a blow to the solar plexus.

"What the hell?!" I roared, forgetting that I'd just gone back into the old fighting style and simultaneously shown my lie to Tatsuki, Orihime and everyone else in the classroom. The both of them were staring at me now, Tatsuki especially.

"That was a pretty good blow, Inju. Where'd you learn to do that on instinct?" Tatsuki queried curiously, my own failure becoming apparent to myself.

"I…just got into a couple fights here and there and recalled how to do it. Get off my fucking case." I answered quickly, as the bell rang. Thank jeebus, or whatever the hell the kids say these days.

"Later!" I interjected, already running off to lunch. Tatsuki didn't sit up on the roof with us; sometimes Orihime would go down to sit with Tatsuki and the other girls. I didn't; I don't belong with the normal girls. They talk about boys and who likes who and other lovey-dovey shit like that; I don't get 'love' or any of that shit. Useless in a fight, ain't worth shit anywhere else either. Today, Orihime followed me to the roof, where I thudded down next to her. I didn't usually talk to anyone other than Matsumoto and Orihime, mostly because they were the only two that seemed to like me; Rukia just tolerated me and Chad is basically silent. Everyone else seemed to loathe my existence, which was fine. Fuck 'em; I don't play nice for anyone I don't fucking like. Ishida and Ayasegawa were high on my shit list, Kurosaki hanging around third. Speaking of the asshole, he was randomly leaving now and then. After jumping like a spooked little bitch, he always runs off and shows up late, out of breath and tired-looking. And lately, I've been feeling sick more often. Probably just adjusting to the clean air; you get used to the smog after awhile. Think I might have gotten an addiction to secondhand smoke too.

"So Inju-chan, how've you been feeling? You look kinda pale." Orihime stated with a hint of worry, looking into my face. I didn't feel like reminding her of the 'Personal Bubble', so I just scooted back.

"I'm fine, just getting used to the air around here." She seemed to take this one, sitting back at my left and resuming her staring at Kurosaki. Orihime Inoue is in love with Ichigo Kurosaki; even my dumb ass could see that. And my dumb ass also sees how Kurosaki acts like she doesn't even exist. It's kinda pitiful, in a way. Speaking of Kurosaki, he actually decided to turn and acknowledge my existence today.

"You, Inju." He stated, pointing at me. I blinked, incredulously.

"What, fruit?" My tone matched his, and I'm pretty damn glad he decided to just pass over the attitude. I don't want to get my happy ass expelled the fifth day of school. Tomorrow was Saturday; the day I sit around and do jack shit. Well, if Orihime doesn't drag me everywhere again. Back to Kurosaki; he was doing that annoying talking thing again.

"We're heading to the river later, to hang out. You're coming." He stated, as if it was with the utmost finality this was said. I blinked. The mighty Kurosaki was inviting lowly Zetsumei to join His Holiness at the river?

"…Yeah? Who says I'll fucking come?" I stated, just to be difficult. It's something you don't lose overnight; I've always been a difficult person. Orihime looked at me.

"You're not coming to the river?" She queried, grabbing me by the wrist. AGAIN.

"Come on; you've gotta have fun sometime! You're always scowling, Inju-chan!" At this statement, I started scowling again.

"I do not. I smile whenever I feel like it." She let me go and I turned and spat off of the roof, dropping the wad of chew so I could eat. Not like I looked where it landed; just turned and got ready to eat as Kurosaki glanced over the railing. He scowled as soon as he saw something, putting his food aside and standing. I blinked again.

"What? Somethin' happenin'?" I queried, shoving a sandwich in my mouth and taking a huge bite. I like bologna sandwiches; so sue me. He gave a glare to me.

"Thanks, PMS. We've got trouble because of your damn spitting habit." As if on cue, the roof doors opened and a giant of a bastard stalked in, six or so thugs behind him. I stood as well; the stance and way they bunched together and then fanned out around the area was entirely too familiar. This was a shit fight.

"Who fuckin' spit on my damn head?" The biggest guy growled, gesturing to a previously-chewed wad of chewing tobacco from yours truly. Kurosaki 'tched'.

"Not important; get the hell out of here. We don't want shit." From the noises behind me, I could hear Orihime shifting out of the way.

"Kurosaki-kun…" She said quietly, moving back as the group in front of us thronged around Ichigo and I. This was bad, if they knew how to fight. The two of us naturally moved back-to-back, keeping our eyes on all the huge thuggish guys.

"You don't want shit? You got shit, Kurosaki. I've had shit with you for years, and now we're finishing it all off. You and that little bitch right there." Ichigo didn't seem to react to the threat, even if I spat at this big thug's feet.

"Fuck you, li'l bitch. Kick yer' ass n' be makin' yer' momma cry." I didn't realize how the Kyoto dialect all the thugs used there was slipping back, even if Ichigo looked at me like I was insane. Heard so much of that accent back in the day, it wears off after awhile. Now it comes out when I get too excited for a fight. My own stance was slipping back into the old as well, arms close to my chest and knees slightly bent. It was so good to be like this again.

"F…you little whore!" The big guy shouted, charging at Kurosaki and I. A couple lackeys came from behind, and the both of us twisted to challenge our own fights. I saw him slam a foot into the big guy's jaw, right before I hooked a foot behind one of the guy's legs and pulled his feet out from under him, inadvertently stamping on his throat before grabbing the second thug's wrist, jerking him downward and to the ground. A quick jerk and I heard the pleasant sound of a shoulder dislocating, drop-kicking him in the chest before kicking off to aid Kurosaki. Gotta give the guy credit; he was a pretty fucking good brawler. I saw him get kicked at a split second before one of the thugs I hadn't seen managed to sock me right across the face. I steeled my stance, surprising the guy by not staggering back and instead lunging forward to slam an elbow into his mouth. Grabbing him by the back of the head, I managed to hook him into one of the bastards Kurosaki was busy throwing, slamming their heads together and crumpling to the ground while the big guy got in a kick to my stomach. This time I did stagger, mostly from the brute force on my smaller body. Staggering back a few steps, I felt arms wrap under and around mine in a Full-Nelson, the leader thug coming forward with a grin. Blood was trailing from my mouth where I'd been socked and bitten my lip, and that kick was gonna bruise like a cheap French whore tomorrow morning. Ichigo was busy surrounded with a few of the others, ones who had gotten back up and came at him all at once. I was on my own this time, as the biggest guy in front of me produced something from his pocket.

"Fuck."

I stated with rising dread, as the guy pulled on a pair of brass knuckles. He grinned, lunging forward and left hooking right into my ribs. Bolts of agony seared through my torso, as a muffled cracking noise could be heard. Broke a rib, possibly two. Not much time to react before the second swing hit me in the bruising spot from the kick, getting a pained gasp from me. I immediately snarled, knowing they were enjoying beating the shit out of me. No sign of Orihime; that was good. I didn't want her seeing me getting my ass beaten. Dammit, I was so focused on watching my front and sides that I forgot to guard my back. Always was a weakness of mine.

Dimly, I broke from my reverie when the guy pulled back, slamming brass knuckles across my face in a crushing right hook. I immediately tasted blood; bastard broke a couple of teeth in that one. A myriad of other swings, and I ended up with hella bruises, a dislocated shoulder from the hold guy pulling too damn hard and a couple more cracks in my ribs.

"Big words earlier, fucking whore. Where's the tears then? Fucking cry already!" He spat, winding back for what I would know to be a crushing blow directly to my face. If that didn't break all my front teeth, then it'd smash my nose into my brain and kill me right then and there. I tensed, preparing to either die or to die. Not like this; I'm just some statistic of school violence! I'm not dying like this!

My angered exclamations were answered when the guy holding me was suddenly sent airborne, flying overhead. I didn't have to look back at who it was; only had to glance at the enormous shadow to know that Chad had probably saved my life. In that moment of freedom, I took advantage of the brass knuckles dude's horror at my backup's arrival and lunged forward, winding up a blow of my own and sending a crushing roundhouse into the side of his head. Using the volition, I carried it downward and slammed his skull into the concrete, pinning his arm down with my right knee and the other with my left foot as Chad moved forward to help out Ichigo with his little fan club. The other arm of brass knuckle dude was quickly subdued by a well-placed foot in the joint, holding that down as well.

"So…you think yer' a real badass, don'cha then?" I drawled, smirking despite how my body felt like I'd taken a quick vacation to Hell and back. Reaching up, I gripped the dislocated arm and shoved it back in it's socket, hissing at the pain before taking a deep breath and moving it around a little bit. Still worked.

"Nah…you ain't shit, kid. Some small-town bitch who thinks he's the fucking shit." Gripping his hand, I moved my knee to pull it up to where he could see me grinning like a demon.

"This is how we do this shit in Kyoto, bitch. This is how the underground fights are done. I don't play with brass knuckles; I don't need to." I stated easily, grabbing a finger and bending it back to where it snapped pleasantly. Oh God, I loved the scream. I remember doing this back when I was the head bitch down in the Kyoto underground; one of the top thugs in the biggest fight club down there. We didn't fight with rules; whoever dropped first lost. I did it for money; those were the days before I got out of the cocaine. Lucky as shit I got out of the powder when I did; nearly OD'd a couple times, just because I didn't give a shit anymore.

Snap. Second finger, second scream. Damn this guy was loud. I did it for the money. That's it. I did it for the money and for the coke. Just enough to powder my nose, and that was it.

…Who the fuck am I kidding? I did it just so I could do shit like this. Didn't want for shit except violence. Mommy bought everything else; I was just a Kyoto thug snapping arms for the hell of it. Because I could.

"So, you gonna cry fer' me, kid?" I crooned, snapping fingers three and four together. The brass knuckles had been long discarded; I just wanted to break something. To destroy someone. I want to hear more screams.

"What the hell, you crazy bitch!!" I heard someone shout, as arms gripped me and dragged me off of the guy. I flailed, trying to get loose before I looked up to see a shock of bright orange hair. Ichigo was bad off, blood running from his head and a couple obvious bruises already building.

"What the fuck is wrong with you, anyway??" He growled at me, and I quit flailing. I was about to scream at him, when the sudden movement caused my vision to swim. I dimly recognized that something was running in my left eye, and that my head hurt like a cheap French whore. Everything hurt like French whores. I spat, trying to stand up and jerk away from him.

"I'm fine! That's how I fight, Kurosaki. That's how the fight clubs always did it, and that's how I do it. Get off my fucking ass." He didn't let go until I was on my feet, when I jerked free and started attempting to walk. By now, a group of students were staring at the fight, and at the freaky new chick going all Mafia on the guy now whimpering on the ground. I took another step, and immediately, my legs gave out from under me. I fell forward, a hand grabbing the dislocated arm's elbow and wrenching it out of socket again as I fell. I swore once, and then my vision blacked out. Just as I did.

**((AN: Yes, I switched to first perspective. It's much easier to write for me, and it flows much easier. Anyway, at least there was a fight scene here. I swear, the Hollows are going to start showing up next chapter. I just needed a bit of time to introduce Inju completely for the vicious bitch she is. Reviews are welcome, flames will be giggled at. Two chapters in one day though; that's amazing. Toodles!))**


	3. Run Like A Bitch

**((AN: Hokay, this chapter, the Hollows WILL show up! If anyone's still reading after the first two boring as hell chapters. I wonder sometimes. Anyway, pairing poll is up. Have at; any other choices, I'm still open to. Practically a blank slate, right now. And I have to thank my first ever reviewer, I'llxBexUrxEnigma2010!! Really made my entire day, that did.))**

I felt the arc of pain resulting from Ichigo's dipshit ass dislocating my shoulder again, the pure fucking agony making my vision flicker and dim. It was too much, after all the other injuries I had. Closing my eyes, I let the black take me as someone said my name again.

_________

'She's got some bad injuries. How did this happen, Ichigo?'

A voice. Don't know this one.

'She leaned over a railing and spat chew on some gang leader's head. He came up with his thugs and decided to kick us around or something.'

That one is kinda familiar. Who's the other dude?

'Hm…I see. Dislocated shoulder, four broken ribs, broken collarbone, three broken teeth. Can probably deal with the teeth; they weren't shattered, maybe a little tooth pain but she can deal with that. Ribs just cracked, just set them and she'll be fine with those. The collarbone gives a little bit of trouble, but it wasn't that bad. She's a tough one; you said brass knuckles, right?'

I knew it about the ribs. They're going to set my shoulder again when I get up, and it's going to hurt like a bitch. This is a goddamn hospital. I know that smell. Antiseptic.

'Brass knuckles. I'm pretty sure I've gotten off the hook, for self-defense. Her though…'

What? They gonna throw me out? Pfft. Like it hasn't happened before.

'Well, she'll have to figure something out. Anyway, she's waking up.'

I twitched. Guy has some sharp damn eyes.

"Caught me." I stated, opening my eyes slowly, to painful white. Immediately noticing some doctor over me, short black hair and a goatee. He was staring at me intently, before cracking a smile.

"Hello, Zetsumei-san! You're at the Kurosaki Clinic!" He stated cheerily, a little too cheery for my tastes. But fuck, I hang out with Orihime Inoue, the chick made out of goddamn sunshine and rainbows. Should be used to it by now.

"…What's the damage?" I stated in a groan, sitting up to the pain of an out-of-socket arm. Mr. Doctor blinked, looking at me.

"What, no hello?" I blinked, a deadpan expression on my face. He seemed to take this as a no, because he pulled my chart and started reciting injuries.

"Cracked ribs, broken colla-"

"No. Money-wise. I heard the damn injuries when I was coming out of Coma Land." I cut him off. Apparently, mystery man wasn't used to teens getting this fucked up and then asking how much it was gonna cost.

"Hm…for all of it? Is it important to know? Your parents must have insurance-"

"My mother's plan doesn't cover fighting injuries." I cut him off again, as he moved to the right side of the bed. His expression darkened somewhat, most likely in worry for my mom affording it. All of a sudden, he grabbed my arm and slammed it back in socket, getting a string of obscenities from me.

"FUCK!! Goddamn, what the HELL-" I began.

"Now, if I would have let you know then you would have locked your joints and made it more difficult, Zetsumei-san." He told me with misplaced cheer, as I glared at him. He turned back to the chart, now pondering something.

"So, I hear you got in a fight. Pretty bad injuries for a school brawl, Zetsumei-san." Mystery doctor commented airily, and I could see that he was looking at me over the top of the chart. I huffed.

"'S nothing. Just ribs 'n shit." Sitting up straight now, I hung my legs off the bed and made to stand.

"I'll be fine; it's nothi-" Right about then, someone shoved me back down on the clinic bed, somewhat annoyed. I glanced up with a scowl to see it was Ichigo, half-glaring down at me.  
"Stay down. Your temper, you'll just go spit on somebody else and get yourself killed this time." He spoke gruffly, as I glared harder.

"They're the ones that decided to try and fucking kill us." I rebutted, now glancing to Doctor Happypants. He stared sideways at Ichigo, before going all Mortal Kombat and roundhouse kicking him in the head.

"YOU'RE IRRITATING THE PATIENT!! TRYING TO KILL HER, ARE YOU??" He shouted comically to Ichigo, now pinning him to the ground. I gaped as the doctor was thrown off by Ichigo, who started screaming equally comically back at him.

"YOU'RE THE ONE KICKING AROUND YOUR SON IN FRONT OF HER, OLD MAN!!" He shouted, the doctor standing and preparing to strike again, right as I coughed in surprise.

"S-…son??" It had surprised me, that's all. Not like they even fucking looked alike. Ichigo scowled, as the doctor laughed slightly while getting up.

"That's right, I'm Ichigo's dad. Doctor Isshin Kurosaki, to be precise. I did tell you that this was the Kurosaki Clinic, right?" He stated, smiling down at me. Huh, I must have missed the Kurosaki part. I moved again and winced. My arms and legs hurt; the muscles were sore as shit. That's odd; right after a fight, they're usually pretty limber. Now, they hurt like hell.

Kurosaki senior must have seen me wince, because he immediately got out one of those little doctor flashlights and grabbed my chin, shining it in my eyes.

"Do you have a cold or the flu, Zetsumei-chan?" He queried, pulling my mouth open to look down my throat. I snapped my mouth closed, jerking out of his grip.

"I'm fine! Don't fucking touch me!" I spat, Isshin moving back in surprise at my response. Being Inju-chan or Zetsumei-chan to everyone was pissing me off. Isshin looked at me a moment longer before shrugging and setting the chart back at the end of the bed.

"Well, your ribs should be fine if you don't go getting kicked around. I'd see a dentist sometime soon for your teeth; a few of them are chipped and one is cracked. Don't fiddle with it and you'll be fine until you can see a dentist."

Fuck that shit. I don't go to dentists unless a tooth gets shattered or some shit. I've had four replaced so far; still missing a couple. From tonguing around my mouth, I could feel that a falsey had been cracked, and a couple real ones chipped. Nothing I couldn't deal with. Isshin held out a hand for me to get up with. I slapped it away, standing myself and nearly falling over. My legs were a lot worse off than I'd thought. Tense, like that feeling you get when you're just about to kick something. Ichigo grabbed me by the arm again, and this time it didn't pop out of socket.

"Something's wrong. What's with your legs, Zetsumei?" He was staring at me with a slightly curious expression amid the trademark scowl. I jerked my arm away from him, forcing myself to walk towards the door.

"I'm fine. Just a little stiff, alright? Get off my fucking case." I snapped, walking out the door. Unfortunately, I nearly tripped over a blonde girl standing in the doorway, staggering and coming to smack the wall. A hiss escaped me; fucking hurt. The girl rushed to me, fretting as I gritted my teeth against the pain.

"I'm sorry!! I didn't see you there, miss-" Right about then, Isshin stepped out of the small treatment room, looking at me with a concerned expression.

"It's alright Yuzu, it's a sharp turn." He said dismissively, as I stood again. A black-haired girl came from another far-off doorway, staring at me for a moment before shrugging and going back up. Ichigo came out of the treatment room next, making sure this Yuzu kid was alright before glaring at me.

"Watch where you're going, Zetsumei! You could have hurt Yuzu!"

I swear, I'm going to kill Ichigo Kurosaki in his sleep. I could have hurt a perfectly healthy kid standing in doorways, even if said kid standing in the doorway could have had me break my fucking neck.

"Oh…sorry for not seeing her standing in the doorway, Kurosaki!" I growled lowly, a pained half smile, half snarl on my face. Isshin handed me a clipboard with a piece of paper on it and a pen.

"If you say you're fine, I can't hold you here. Sign at the bottom, put your mother's insurance and her phone number and I'll see if I can't work something out." He said, smiling kindly. I had to admit, this was one of the least judgmental doctors I'd ever seen for fighting injuries. Most of the others just looked at me like some thug that deserved it, and practically threw me out after the treatment. I signed and put the info, before he helped me walk to the door.

"…Thanks, doctor Kurosaki." I said, looking off to the side. Slightly embarrassed that I was thanking someone; I almost never thank people for shit. Isshin smiled, laughing slightly.

"'Doctor Kurosaki' is _way_ too formal! Call me Isshin!" He laughed, slapping me on the shoulder. I coughed; at least he didn't hit the bad one like his son did.

"Thanks…Isshin." It was kind of uncomfortable, but I played along with it. I left, tossing a slight wave to Ichigo. He was a good kid to have on my side in a fight; wouldn't want to brawl with 'im. Probably kick my ass, maybe even if I wasn't…No! I'm the strongest one here, and I'll kick the ass of anyone who says otherwise!

"FUCK!! I'm thinking too damn hard!!" I shouted to nobody, already halfway home and on an empty street. It was dark; I must have been out awhile, if it was already nighttime. I think it was around noon when the fight happened. Looked like I woke up around ten or eleven. I'm guessing it was midnight right now. The streetlights flickered now and then, lining the streets eerily. Shadows stretched across the environment, putting me on edge. Doctor Ku-…Isshin must have given me some sort of painkiller, because I didn't feel near as shitty as I know I should have. That, plus I was getting that freaked feeling. Or maybe that was just paranoia from walking down an empty street alone at midnight. Who knows. The air was still, broken occasionally by the twittering of nightingales or chirping crickets. Maybe even a far-off noise, like a closing door. Most people would have been calmed by the atmosphere. I was on pins and needles. Kyoto taught me that walking alone was the worst possible decision to make. Being alone, at night, in an isolated spot meant that you were vulnerable to someone grabbing you and dragging you off to do God-knows-what in a dark alley. That or a gang that had shit with you might just pull you off to a dark corner and stab, shoot or beat you to death. Especially for a woman; and especially for a woman with nearly useless sore legs wearing a RAPE-BAIT PORNO SCHOOL UNIFORM SKIRT!!! Needless to say, I was listening for the very slightest noise out of place.

Holy fuck, did I get a noise out of place.

The most bloodcurdling, earsplitting scream I had ever heard shredded the night, drowning out those pretty crickets and the odd nightingale. I didn't even jump; pure, abject terror froze me to the spot. My breath escaped me; I couldn't even breath as the loud thuds of heavy footsteps echoed behind me. Dear God, they were getting closer.

This time, I did turn around to see the source of the sound and immediately, I wished I hadn't. I gasped, finally taking a breath as I stared in horror at the monstrosity before me.

It must have been five stories tall. That was the second thing I saw. It walked like a gorilla, on it's knuckles, pounding slowly towards me. The body was hunched over, a dark gray color with taloned bird-like feet and hands that had elongated fingers, like a bat's. More than anything else, what terrified me the most is what I saw first. That horrific dog-like mask on it's face, bone white but with hungering, yellow-gold irises set against black sclera. The teeth were set and jagged; they looked like something had just broken a mouth from the mask. I took another gasping breath and immediately regretted it. The sound caused the soulless yellow eyes to lock onto my diminutive form, a rumbling, growling noise coming from the monster's chest. A split second later, it dragged it's head back and let another shrill scream, dropping it's head and starting to charge directly at me. The scream froze me in place, my now pounding legs refusing to move from their spots.

_'__It's getting closer!! RUN!!'_ My mind shrieked at me, and yet my legs didn't move. My heart was racing in my ears. I could feel the beat in my whole body, pounding like a war drum through my being. Finally, my stupid ass realized that it was getting pretty close and on pure instinct, I turned and ran. Ran like a little bitch, I did. My shoes slammed against the concrete road as I sprinted, the kind of sprint where you barely touch the ground before flying forward for another step, a giant leaping pace. I could barely hear over my own ragged breathing, dragging sharp gasp after sharp gasp of the biting icy air into my searing lungs, my legs screaming at me by now for respite. But always, I heard the pounding slams of the behemoth's feet growing louder and louder behind me, as did the screaming of a predator encroaching on the prey it would very soon catch up to. I was slowing down too, so I was only helping the monstrosity out.

Coming back to myself, I saw with peaking horror that a five-story shadow was looming over me, stretching out for what seemed like miles ahead.

A split second later, I felt my feet leave the concrete as a deafening slam resounded next to my running form, the force knocking me to the ground as I skidded for a few feet from my own volition.

"Kuh!" The breathless noise left me as I hit the concrete, scraping up my arms and legs as I hit. The dirty road bit into my flesh, shearing off the first layer of skin and sending stabs of pain through my already sore-as-shit limbs. I immediately remembered what situation I was in, and flipped onto my ass to stare up at the hulking mongrel, it's grinning mask right in my face. Acrid drool ran from the jagged mouth, dripping onto the concrete, as I felt hot stinging breath flash onto me, blowing my short ragged hair back. The foul breeze stung my amber eyes, and yet I didn't dare close them and lose sight of this thing for even a single split second.

My wide horrified eyes trailed from its mask to another terrifying oddity; a perfectly round hole going through it's chest and straight through the monstrous being. Moonlight shone through the hole, a small spot lighting my bosom, right over my slamming heart. And at that moment, something odd occurred to me.

Why the hell wasn't anyone coming to help me?

They must have heard this…this thing!! It was as loud as a train, and yet the night was undisturbed, as if my life-or-death struggle just…didn't exist. I couldn't cry out for help; I daren't. It felt as if the slightest noise would shatter this short moment of simultaneous horror and strange serenity.

Of course, I didn't have to do a thing.

As if something had clicked in its mind, the beast shrieked again and reared back, preparing to grab or swat me. I couldn't tell which, as I suddenly rolled backwards onto my feet. Even as I was in mid-roll, I felt the breeze of the swipe right against my skull; a moment later and my fucking head would have been taken off. I stumbled as I stood, my legs screaming in protest to movement. They held though, and my form stood in front of a monster sextuple my size.

Terror thrummed in my heart…in my soul, as I waited for it to move again. It did, finishing it's swing and lunging for me. I relied on instinct this time, nerves forged in the Kyoto underground's black fire. Those nerves had saved me so very many times before; they better fucking work now, or I was a dead high schooler wearing a rape-bait porno skirt.

**((AN: Well, I told you that the hollows were starting to show up in this chapter, right? You know, I've started to realize that I don't really do much in most of my chapters, time-wise. Probably an hour and a half, in this one. But it's an EXCITING hour and a half! Anyway, next chapter will be out tonight, because I have no life and an off sleeping schedule. Toodles again!))**


	4. Fight Like A Cornered Hooker

**((AN: Well, here's to chapter four, what I consider the most interesting out of all the current chapters. Lots of action in this one, so it should make up for the horrific first chapter. Still don't have any votes for the pairings; if it continues on like this, I'll just have to pick one randomly! Though I get the feeling that the actual lineup is remarkably shorter if I'm the only one picking. Anyway, on with chapter four!))**

I stared up at the beast before me. If my nerves didn't serve me now, I'd be a dead bitch in a rape-bait porno skirt.

__________________________

You know, in retrospection, that week hadn't been as horribly bad as I'd have liked to tell myself. Sure, I was out in the sticks. Sure, I had an annoyingly cheerful girl cemented to my wrist half the time. And sure, I'd already developed enemies and even gotten in a brawl. But I had peace here from the roaming gangs out to take my head back to their bosses on a silver platter. I Orihime was a good friend, always looking out for me even when I was a total bitch. And I'd also gotten a small circle of good friends and I had enjoyed that brawl to an extent, excluding injuries.

And none of it compared to what I was going through now.

The horrific creature, inhuman in both shape and behavior, reared back, screaming that shrill screech and swiped at my much smaller figure. A left hook; if it connected, it'd hit me in my right side, probably dislocating my bad arm and putting me down for the count. I couldn't damn well let that happen; I won't die without making my mark on this fucking planet. With a sweep, I jumped counterclockwise with the swing, left and backwards. The movement wasn't perfect; I felt the tips of jagged claws slice very shallowly along my ribs. Landing on my feet as lightly as a cat, I swore slightly at the imperfection of my dodge.

"Dammit! How the hell am I going to fight this fucking thing?!" I hissed, fighting the urge to apply pressure to the stinging slices and instead keeping my arms close to my torso so I would remain compact, and quicker. Old fighting tricks; I'd never have thought they'd come into handy out here in the sticks.

"Shit!" I swore, as my idiot distractedness had allowed this thing the time to catch me by surprise with another swing. I couldn't dodge; only brace myself as it swung again, hitting me full-on in a crushing backhand. I cried out in agony, flying backwards from the force and skating along the concrete to come to rest in a crumpled heap ten or so feet away. I coughed, lifting my head up to see scarlet on the concrete I had coughed on. Internal injuries; magical. Sucking in a pained wheeze, I rose to my hands and knees to find nothing broken limb-wise. Now ribs, I couldn't be sure.

"Dammit…fuck…I'll…die…here?" I questioned nobody in particular, before shaking my head and forcing myself to stand again. The beast didn't see me as a threat at all; it didn't even consider me escaping as it ambled slowly towards me again. My arms and legs were practically pulsing with the thrumming of pain; this wasn't being sore. This was something else entirely, and I hated the feeling.

But at the same time, I'm pretty sure I liked it. It was a powerful sensation, every nerve tingling with something hidden deep, waiting to arise to the challenge. Blood ran from my mouth where I'd bitten my tongue at the impact of being slapped around; just something else that stung with pain. But I ignored it, instead folding my hands into fists and concentrating on the feeling as the hulking behemoth stood in front of me again, raising it's hand and swinging down to crush me flat.

It was more of a nervous twitch than an actual decision of movement that propelled me to the left of my spot, to not freeze at the deafening slam of it's palm. If I'd have thought about it, I would have hesitated and probably been smashed flat right then and there. Instead, those instincts propelled me to turn and bring my leg up, slamming my foot right into the beast's hand as that strange sensation intensified to an almost tangible range. It was euphoric, this level of power I could feel in my body. And as the blow connected, I could have sworn I saw a flash of light before the thing howled again. But this time, it wasn't that unearthly screech of a predator.

The bastard was howling in pain.

It swung its arm into the air, unfortunately enough flipping me in the process. While it held it's hand semi-close to it for a moment, the discolored flesh of its fingers seemingly crushed horrifically by a mere stomp, I was flipped and landed straight on my back, shouting in pain. The euphoric feeling was gone now; all I had was pain and the protests of my ribs to the abuse they were taking. In my next attempt at standing, the thing was apparently pretty pissed at me and instead of rearing back again, simply shot it's good hand out and slammed me to a tree. I heard a cacophony of sickening cracks as I screamed, a primal shout of agonized emotion and terror. Another hack and more blood spilled forth, dripping down onto the rape-bait porno skirt as the monster pulled its hand back and reared to crush me this time. I caught a glimpse of the one I had stomped on, and saw that the fingers were crushed, as was the main part of the hand itself. A grin crossed my pained features; I had hurt it, at least. Hur hur, score for 'Inju-chan'. The fem thug that was about to be as dead and as young as I'd always declared myself to be at my death. At least I was young. Seemed to fulfill at least half of my wishes. As it shrieked and darted forward to bite me, I stared upon it with an odd sort of calm. What a beautiful night it was to be eaten alive.

It didn't work out that way, because some higher power decided to drop more weird shit in my lap.

Faster than I could follow, someone was crouched in front of me, huge-ass sword now stained with blood as the behemoth reared back shrieking in agony.

"Damn, only a quarter."

That single voice simultaneously relieved and pissed me off. Though I was too injured to show my displeasure at the saviour, the familiar figure stood and flicked his blade as if it were a twig instead of a huge-ass sword. Excess blood flitted across the ground, thrown from the weapon as an orange-headed teen I happened to semi-hate watched the wraith cover its face with its good hand.

"Damn, you sure don't bring anything but trouble, do ya?" He spoke dismissively, annoyance and boredom both in his voice. I snarled to the best of my ability in state I was in.

"Ooh…sorry…to bother…you…" I choked, despite my surprise and confusion at the being in front of me, so easily fending off the creature that nearly killed me.

Ichigo Kurosaki was standing before me, in some weird samurai clothes, wielding a big-ass sword and cutting down monsters. What. The. Fuck. Am I going fucking insane, or is it just this town? Shit like this didn't happen in Kyoto!

Right about then, the monster recovered, missing a quarter of it's mask and pissed. It screeched, a bloodcurdling howl slicing the once-serene air to ribbons. Kurosaki didn't even flinch. I watched in amazement as Ichigo turned, the monster charging already and upon him. Kurosaki merely raised his sword, running at it with high speed. The thing swung at him with it's good clawed hand, and the orange-headed make believe samurai swung his sword around and blocked it before twisting and cleaving the hand in half. Without missing a beat, he jumped over the swing of the ruined hand attempting to crush him and practically flew up to its head, swinging once and cleaving it in half. The thing screeched once, before dissipating like mist into nothingness. I watched Kurosaki move, saw the mastery he had in fighting these things. That meant this one probably wasn't the only one around.

I snapped from my reverie as he stuck his sword on his back, turning to stare at me incredulously. Ichigo began walking forward to meet me, normally. As if he were used to fighting like that, for his life. I attempted to speak, but instead of words, blood came out and stained my uniform's front. Hacking, my vision dimmed and flickered out right as he started running at me, screaming something.

Well, I sure hope I don't die right after being saved.

___________________

**((AN: Short chapter, I know. But next chapter is Urahara time, hooray! I'll have it out tonight or tomorrow morning, depending on if I'm feeling incredibly lazy tonight or not. Toodles!))**


	5. Wake Up Sunshine

**((AN: Fifth chapter, and now we're getting into the real story. Less intros, moar action. Thanks again to I'llxBexUrxEnigma2010, for the second review on the fourth chapter. C'mon gais, they make me smile.))**

Kurosaki dropped in, bitch-slapped the monster back to God-knows-where and then started to walk towards me, before I spat blood and passed out. Sure hope I don't die right after being rescued.

______________________________

Mumbling. I'm being carried, none-too-gently. Feels like I'm under somebody's arm like a sack of potatoes. And we're moving damn fast too. I nearly slip; bastard better not drop me! Fortunately, I get caught and then moved from under their arm to being nearly smothered in their shirt. Smells like sweat. They mumble something else, before they stop running and start walking normally. A cool breeze of air conditioning hit the side of my hot face, and an entirely too cheery voice cut the environment.

"Kurosaki-san!! How may I help you toda-" The merry male voice rang out, before cutting off in mid sentence. He probably saw me. Footsteps approached my barely-conscious form, and I could just_ feel_ someone staring at me. Right in my face. In the personal bubble area. Breath touched my face, smelling like…candy?

"I see. Put her in back; Tessai, can you wrap her up? Inoue-san will most likely heal her completely tomorrow; I don't want to drag her out here in the middle of the night and make her unnecessarily worried." He queried, someone giving an afffirmatory grunt.

"Of course, sir." A man with a deep voice answered, and I could hear heavy steps coming towards my half-dead form as the other unknown man seemed to approve.

"Thank you, Tessai. We seem to have things to discuss." All lightness was lost from his voice, now absolutely serious. The person carrying me recently identified as Kurosaki gave an affirmatory grunt before I felt him hand me off to a much, much larger person. Probably the deep-voiced man from earlier. The once-cheery guy and Kurosaki began mumbling to each other as big guy seemed to carry me off to places unknown.

I attempted to look at big guy, but my eyes wouldn't open and when I attempted to speak nothing came out but a wet hacking cough. More blood; the coppery taste coated my tongue and made me want to die. I couldn't say I hated the taste of blood; I liked it, you could say. Hell, I loved the taste. It meant that I was or had fought, and since I wasn't too dead so that I couldn't taste shit, I must be winning. But having a mouthful is just sickening; blood was running down my chin at that moment.

Finally, big guy set me on a soft beddish thing in some stuffy, musty room somewhere. Now, here's where my consciousness faded in and out for awhile. I remember it being cold all of a sudden, and then I remember some more pain, and then I remember nothing at all because that was about the time I blacked out for the last time.

_____________________

God damn, it hurt. A door seemed to fly open far-off from wherever the hell I was, a high-pitched yell of urgent worry.

"Urahara-san!! W-where is-"

I thought she sounded familiar. But the voice didn't have a name or a face to match as the easygoing male voice I had heard earlier tried to calm her down. I guessed this was Urahara. The guy with the candy breath.

"Don't worry, don't worry Inoue-san! She's fine; Tessai wrapped up her wounds and she'll live. Come on; have some tea." He crooned, attempting to coerce the woman into having tea. She seemed to refuse, footsteps approaching my current location. I didn't think anyone else was in the room with me, but then again, I was…some kind of injured, from how much I ached. The footsteps were silenced instantly.  
"Inoue-san, if you go into her room in the state you're in and the state she's in, then you'll do nothing but excite her. And really, she doesn't need excitement of any kind right now." He said sternly. I thought I heard the woman sigh, before walking away with him to go calm down and have tea or something.

Meanwhile, I was working on opening my eyes and taking a look at where I was. It was painful, but I eventually tore myself from the comforting dark and looked around wearily. It was a musty storeroom, I could tell. Boxes of things I couldn't identify were stacked in the corner, shoved out of the way to make room for the ratty off-green futon I was laying on at the moment. Slowly bringing my muscles to life, I pulled down the covers on top of me and took account of how fucked up I was.

Bandages crisscrossed my torso, where I had been batted around by the monster from earlier. They extended up my shoulders and down my arms a ways, blood staining them here and there. I groaned; those were some pretty fucked up looking injuries, far worse than what I had earlier thought. My arms and legs ached again, though not as bad as before the fight where I had stomped on the hand and smashed it. That would normally have bothered me, but currently I was fucked up in a strange place by a weird monster that tried to kill me. Weird smashing of monster hands wasn't actually that high on my list of WHAT THE FUCK right now.

I worked myself to a sitting position and noted that when I was out, somebody had taken off my shirt to wrap up my chest. Oh well; even if they did cop a feel, I don't remember it. Who was it, that Tessai dude? I pressed my hands over the bandages, finding the actual wounds with a hiss and the odd utterance of 'Fuck', or 'shit'. Groaning, I put my head in my hands.  
"What the fuck kind of shit did I get involved with now?" I asked nobody in particular.

"Some pretty off-the-wall happenings, Zetsumei-chan!" That cheery candy guy's voice came from the door, as he had randomly decided to pop in and see my sitting form. I glared; who the hell was he to be happy while I was fucked up??

"Don't call me Zetsumei-chan." I growled, moving and then regretting it as I half-collapsed on the wooden floors. The guy walked in, moving aside as a familiar orange head and giant set of boobs rushed in to my side.

"Inju! Oh Inju, are you okay??" Orihime queried hurriedly, looking me over with deepening concern. I almost growled, 'Do I look fucking okay you dipshit bimbo', but I resisted.

"…No…" I settled to growl, moving back up to an upright sitting position and finally looking upon the guy from the doorway. It was the candy guy, who I now saw as a tall blond guy wearing traditional Japanese clothes and a stupid green and white striped beach hat. The stupid hat shaded his eyes, which, as he walked forward and kneeled in front of me to examine my face, I realized were a stormy grayish blue-green. Seeing my black glare, he moved back and flipped a fan out of _nowhere, _covering the bottom half of his face and only showing his already shadowed eyes to me.

"Wow, that's one scary look you're giving me!" He stated with feigned surprise, as I got a closer look at his eyes amid my deepening glare. They held a light of feigned innocence, glinting as the blond guy moved back and sat opposite me.

"Inoue-chan, why don't you go ahead and take care of her injuries. Then we'll go outside and explain _everything_, alright Zetsumei-chan?" He ended in a question, as Orihime seemed to prepare to do something. I raised my hand, causing her to hesitate.

"No. Don't heal me. I'll heal on my own." I stated somewhat roughly, offering no room for argument in my tone. Orihime didn't get the 'no room for argument'.

"B-but, it'll only take a second, and it won't hurt!" She rebutted, preparing to do it again. I cut her off once more, waving my hand in a circle to emphasize.

"No. I don't take help for my own battles and injuries if I'm not gonna die from 'em. It's my code." I stated, the covers Orihime had moved around me after she had first seen me dropping. Of course, I heard her gasp and from blondie I got a curious "Well, would you look at that."

Tattoos. Long tattoos going from under the bandages over my breasts, stretching over the pectoral muscles and the tips of it ending at my shoulders. Two twin dragons, old-styled, decorated my chest. They were normally hidden by the sweater top I wore for school, and the non-revealing shirts I wore any other time. But now, Orihime and blondie could see them near perfectly. As could Orihime see the words emblazoned across my back, in large and beautiful lettering. The ornate kanji reading, '腐っ犬'.

"Rotting Dog." Orihime spoke, tracing her fingers across the letters. I sighed; this was going to happen, I should have known by now. Of course they'd find my gang tattoos. Rotting Dog, just another prolific Kyoto gang. We were in everything; sometimes I wonder if they'll track me down and finally take a cement block to my skull. Silence the loose end, once and for all. Why mom decided to drag me out of there, I kind of guessed awhile back. Getting way too deep into the system. Almost too deep to get back out., What Orihime couldn't see but blondie could was my personal title and saying, spelled out across my stomach. A particularly disgusting title given to me for the way I always handed the fights. And even a couple times, for how I handled dumping the corpses.

"Uji ga waita? Pretty ominous name, Zetsumei-san." Blondie stated, fanning himself even though the room was relatively cool. Uji ga waita means, "The maggots have gushed forth." So you could say that it was a nasty title for a soulless Mafioso gang bitch that didn't and still doesn't take shit from anybody.

"Yeah. I know." I stated, pulling the covers back up over my shoulders and cutting the contact Orihime's fingertips had with the inking. She seemed to come back to herself, blinking and starting to argue with me again.

"Just let me-" She began, as I started to stand.

"No." I cut her off, standing shakily to find myself in nothing but bandages and my underwear.

"Oh yes, I forgot to tell you about that." Blond guy stated unhelpfully, as I grabbed the covers around my feet and wrapped them around my form. Bandages covered my legs too; exactly how fucked up did I get, anyway?

"Orihime, now you know what I was in back in Kyoto. Why I fight how I fight. I wasn't shipped off to Karakura just on a whim. Any day, someone could come to kill me for desertion." I stated, finding that movement was helping the pain somewhat. Working the kinks out, you could say. Orihime fell silent, and the blond dude with the fan just watched me. I'm guessing he'd seen what's slightly above my collarbone, across the soft fleshy part under my throat and to the sides of my clavicle. The name they knew me as back in Rotting Dog. "Zamiel". To this day, not one person I've met even slightly knows what Zamiel is, and I'm pretty sure I'll never meet someone outside of Germany that does. Yeah, I'm all inked up. Hurt like a bitch, but then again I was wasted for half of 'em. Surprised I don't have a winged dick tattooed somewhere on me. Maybe I do. Like I fucking look at 'em.

Finally, I turned to blond dude with the fan.

"Let's get this explanation over with, eh?"

He seemed to be in deep thought for a moment, before brightening up with an out-of-place smile.

"Of course, Zetsumei-san! But first, how are you feeling? Anything….odd?" He seemed to hesitate on word choice at the last word. I stared at him like he was an idiot, which he very well might have been.

"…I was just nearly killed by a giant…thing…I'm in a place I don't know, I still don't know who the hell you are or where I am, for that matter, and I have no goddamn idea what the hell is up with the monster-fighting make believe samurai Kurosaki. So yeah, just a little bit odd." The last words were in a slightly higher pitch, more of a sneer if I had the energy. He just shrugged, already standing and beginning to walk to the door.

"Come along then, Zetsumei-san! Time for you to meet the whole gang, and then we'll just…go from there. Okay?" He looked over his shoulder, smiling brightly. I can't say I didn't feel somewhat…fuck, I dunno. Comforted? Whatever, Orihime was at my side and helping me walk to the door, blanket still wrapped around me as I staggered into an entirely different world.

"That was probably what you could consider the last day containing some semblance of normal of my life."

**((AN: Well, my chapters always seem to deal with short events. This was probably four or five hours, only like twenty minutes of that being actual actions and speech. I know the gang name and the saying are extremely stereotypical, but hell; I liked 'em. Those tattoos are even more stereotypical anyway. New chapter either already done when this one goes up, or coming within an hour or two. Toodles!))**


	6. You're Screwed

**((AN: Alright, on pairings I'm leaning towards a fighter. Someone who could probably kick Inju's ass if they wanted to. They'd have to be able to, to have anything close to control over her. And since she pretty much extremely dislikes/loathes Ichigo, it'd be between Grimmjow, Nnoitra or Zaraki the way I see it. Or Aizen, he can pretty much kick anybody's ass. Hell, with the new chapters Ulquiorra's up there as well just for badassery.))**

I followed blond fan guy, staggering into a world that I'd never escape.

_____________________________________________________

Surprisingly enough, the 'gang' wasn't exactly who I was expecting to see. A group I'd of course become acquainted to sat around a round table, all with tea. And when they saw me, half-naked with a blanket around me and hella tattoos, scowl in place, I'm sure some of them were just as confused to hell as I was.

Around the table, sat Kurosaki, Rukia, Ishida (Damn Ishida), Chad, Matsumoto, Abarai, Ayasegawa, Madarame and Hitsugaya. Some huge, HUGE guy was standing off to the side. He had braids, glasses and a moustache. I swear this guy must have been like eight feet tall, and as big as a mountain. He could probably eat me. A red-haired kid was sitting off against the wall, a little hellion by the look to him. He and I exchanged glaring stares, before looking off in other directions. Somewhat close to him was a little girl, pigtails and a skirt. Cute kid. Probably what I would have looked like back in the day, actually. Before I got into making trouble and raising hell.

Blond dude with the fan sat at what I presumed to be the head of the table, Matsumoto and Abarai scooting aside to make room for me. Orihime moved and sat beside Kurosaki, casting a quick blushing glance to him when he asked her if she was alright. Like I hit her or something. Asshole.

"NOW!!" Fan guy shouted all of a sudden, making half of us jump like little bitches. I stared at him as if he were a madman, which I'm pretty sure he was and still is. He ignored me seamlessly. He must get that stare a lot. Especially since Kurosaki had the exact same expression, mixed with a glare.

"As you've all heard, Zetsumei-san here has indeed been attacked by a hollow." I blinked; hollow?

"Uh-" I began, raising a hand.

"No questions!!" Blond guy cut me off, waving his little fan at me as if to blow away any questions I had. Lowering my hand, I glared harder. This guy was pissing me off.

"Now, as I was saying, Zetsumei-san was attacked and nearly devoured by a hollow."

"Wha-"

"What did I say??" Cut off again. Dammit. Everyone else in the room minus blond guy seemed to be deeply troubled by the info of something trying to eat me. Ishida, damn him, started to talk.

"But her reiatsu is extremely low! She's nearly worthless, taking that into account. Why would a hollow attempt to devour such a low reiatsu signature?" He seamlessly insulted me time and time again. I swear to whatever kind of God exists, I'm going to kill this bastard.

"Hey-"

"Silence, please!" DAMMIT. Blond fan guy glanced to me again in my highly confused state, and decided to do introductions for my sake.

"My name is Kisuke Urahara, and currently, you are being taken care of at the Urahara Shoten." He stated, ignoring Ishida's question entirely. Ha, bastard. Wait, this is that freaky candy shop at the edge of town? I never went in, halfway because the manager was a real creeper from what I'd heard and halfway because I don't fucking like candy.

"Uh-"

"Let me continue!!" I'm getting so pissed off when he does that. He dropped the fan, showing his face. Smile there was none; his tone was dark and absolutely serious.

"And I have to tell you, Inju Zetsumei, you're going to be in constant mortal danger for the rest of your life."

The entire room seemed to absorb the dark and ominous message, all falling silent. I blinked.

"…What…?" I asked nobody, slightly breathless. Urahara seemed to come back to Ishida's question with no provocation at all.

"Ishida-kun (I would have laughed my ass off at Ishida's expression on any other occasion), Inju-san's powers are not styled the same as most. Instead of constantly releaseing a measured amount of her own reiatsu, as Sado-san and Inoue-san do, hers is bottled up and kept inside of her. Restricted almost one hundred percent."

The room fell silent and fourteen pairs of eyes burned into me.

"This means that over time, it over collects and begins to cause her physical body pain and if it is not released, could very well kill her the same way Kurosaki-san nearly died when fighting the Gillian awhile back."

I had no idea what half of the shit Urahara was talking about was, and yet it was all about me. And important, as I could see from the intensity of the stares I was getting, along with how dangerous it sounded to be in. I understood 'kill her', and I understood the part about there being pain. That must be why my limbs ached so much recently.

"It seems that she has developed powers in the same way that Inoue-san and Sado-san have, by contact and proximity to Ichigo Kurosaki and his constant reiatsu flow. When she releases her own reiatsu in these short bursts, it has potentially devastating destructive power, if used correctly. If too much were to be used, however, then it could backfire and very well kill her."

He was talking in some foreign language about me, it almost felt like. I hated it, and yet I couldn't say a word as they all mulled over the information I didn't understand. Urahara finally addressed me directly, staring into me it seemed. I froze, I fucking froze up.

"Zetsumei-san, today if you had not been so intent upon surviving and had not fought back, your very soul would have been devoured by that monster."

Still, I didn't speak. The blanket slid out of my numb fingers, dropping into my lap as did my hands. This was some shitstorm of a magnitude I'd never had been able to anticipate. Karakura didn't sacrifice people to demon gods (I think), but it apparently had soul-devouring monsters floating around all the time trying to eat schoolgirls. I had understood the most important parts; things that went bump in the night were now trying to eat my soul, and I was some sort of superhuman freak with rayatsi or some shit.

"…Can I fight them." I semi-asked, staring into my lap. Urahara seemed surprised by my answer, but after a moment, he spoke again.

"You'll be devoured if you don't."

Four hours later, a pot of tea and one mental breakdown later I was sitting at the table still, digesting all the information Urahara had given me. The entire world was populated with those monsters called hollows, invisible to normal people. They ate normal souls and turned them into hollows as well, before what Kurosaki was, a shinigami, could come and send them to the afterlife world called Soul Society. Everyone except Ishida, Orihime and Chad that sat in our school group on the roof were shinigami, or at least substitutes. Abarai and Matsumoto were Fukutaichos, the third highest shinigami ranking in the Gotei Thirteen, a group of thirteen divisions that organized the shinigami within the Seireitei, the home of the shinigami in Soul Society. Hitsugaya was a Taicho, the second highest ranking, the first highest being the Soutaicho, which was back in Soul Society. Right now, the shinigami were at war with a former shinigami Taicho named Sosuke Aizen, who, along with two other former Taichos named Gin Ichimaru and Kaname Tosen, left Soul Society to rule over Hueco Mundo, the world of the hollows. Me, I had developed spiritual powers and reiatsu from being in close contact with Kurosaki, whose reiatsu was unrestrained and therefore influenced certain souls of the living around him. These souls awoke with their own spiritual powers, such as Orihime's Shun Shun Rikka, as she called them (Tsubaki's a little prick, as I found when he started talking shit about me right then and there after Orihime released her flowers to show me) and Chad's arm. Chad told me he'd show me his later, when we weren't in the Shoten. I didn't even ask Uryuu, who told me later that he was a Quincy. Sounds gay, but maybe that's just from the fact that he sews and wears blues and whites.

The shinigami in the room all explained their positions and in what divisions they were in. Renji was in the sixth division, under some Taicho named Byakuya Kuchiki. From what I heard (from a muttering Ichigo), he was stuck-up and the highest kind of noble. Didn't want to meet him, even if Matsumoto insisted he was 'Hot, sweaty sex in a shihakusho'. I assumed that he was apparently the main interest for a good deal of women, then. Rukia became slightly annoyed at Matsumoto, explaining to me that the last name wasn't a coincidence. Byakuya Kuchiki was her adoptive elder brother, which made Rukia a noble. I could tell from how she carried herself and why she always seemed different than the other people at the school.

Yumichika and Ikkaku both stated they were in the eleventh division, devoted to fighting and battle. Yumichika was the fifth seat, and Ikkaku was the third. Apparently, their Taicho was a monster of a man named Kenpachi Zaraki, who wore an eyepatch that made his battles last longer and had bells in his hair so that people could hear him coming. And apparently, he had a monstrous reiatsu and scared nearly everyone in the Seireitei with it. I swear I heard Ichigo muttering something right about then concerning a 'Fucking psychopath', but I was too busy watching Ikkaku and Yumichika's very movement-oriented explanation of the squad and their Taicho. Zaraki also never did the paperwork and instead battled for the fun of the fight, and got piss-faced drunk a whole lot too. Can't say that I didn't want to meet this guy, even a little bit. He sounded like one tough bastard, and a helluva lot of fun to work under. Yumichika and Ikkaku merely said of the Fukutaicho that she was 'Someone you wouldn't expect'. Wouldn't say anything else about her. You know, I told myself that if I ever got nuked (Which I probably would be, most likely very soon), that I'd want to be in the Eleventh Division and go kick people's asses all day. And get paid for it. Damn straight.

Hitsugaya was the Taicho of the Tenth Division, Matsumoto being his Fukutaicho. Apparently, Hitsugaya did all the paperwork while Matsumoto was a raging drunk. Me and her high-fived, and she told me we'd have to go get wasted sometime. This annoyed Hitsugaya, slightly. Okay, maybe a little more than slightly. But I ignored him. He needed to pull the stick out of his ass.

Rukia told me about her Divison, the Thirteenth. The Taicho was a sickly man by the name of Juushiro Ukitake, who apparently had tuberculosis. But from what Rukia told me, he was a really nice guy. And from what Hitsugaya was muttering, he loved to shove candy on the kid Taicho. I wanted to see that, at least once.

They all gave me a brief rundown of the other squads, going from the boring-sounding First Division with the most powerful of the Taichos, the Soutaicho Yamamoto and his Fukutaicho, whose name I couldn't recall for shit. The Second Division and the Secret Task Force sounded like a bunch of insane ninjas. Especially the psychobitch Taicho Soi Fon, who apparently was a total PMS case. Her Fukutaicho, Marechiyo Ooemaeda was supposedly this huge slob that did practically nothing. Third Division was Taicholess; Gin Ichimaru, apparently one fucking creepy fox-faced bastard that never stopped smiling, had left with Aizen for Hueco Mundo. Now there was only the Fukutaicho, Izuru Kira. He sounded really emo. Fourth Division was the healing corps; the Taicho was Retsu Unohana, a kindly woman with an odd hairstyle. Her Fukutaicho was Isane Kotetsu, who sounded really boring to me so I didn't listen all too well about her. The Fourth Division was basically nonviolent; pacifists that healed with their zanpakuto, which I learned were swords reflecting the wielder's soul. Shinigami used them to vanquish hollows. When I asked if I could get one, the shinigami kind of laughed and said that humans didn't have them. When I pointed Ichigo out, they told me he was a special case.

Fifth Division was the company that had contained the mastermind of the entire convoluted plot, Sosuke Aizen. He stabbed his Fukutaicho Momo Hinamori in an attempt to kill her before leaving for Hueco Mundo. Apparently, Hinamori survived but was in a coma. Sixth Division was Byakuya Kuchiki and Renji Abarai's squad; I still didn't want to meet Kuchiki any time soon. Seventh was Sajin Komamura, who apparently had the face of a fox. Eighth was Shunsui Kyoraku, an apparent drunkard and all around easy-going guy from what I was told. But apparently, his Fukutaicho was straight-laced and incredibly strict with him. Ninth Division's Taicho was Kaname Tosen, one of the traitorous shinigami that left with Aizen. The Fukutaicho was Shuuhei Hisagi, who apparently had some sort of dirty tattoo on his face or something. Tenth Division's Taicho and Fukutaicho were sitting across from me at the moment; Toshiro Hitsugaya and Rangiku Matsumoto. Eleventh Division's Taicho was Kenpachi Zaraki and the Fukutaicho was Yachiru Kusajishi. Twelfth Division was kept by Mayuri Kurotsuchi, a masked apparent psychopath with a knack for twisted sciences. His daughter, Nemu Kurotsuchi, was also his Fukutaicho. Thirteenth Division was Juushiro Ukitake's domain, and he had no Fukutaicho. Everyone kind of shied off from telling me why there wasn't one, and Rukia looked kind of depressed at the mention.

"Well, that's enough excitement for you Zetsumei-san!" Urahara stated immediately, as everyone in the room began getting up and shifting around. I blinked.

"W…wait, what the hell?? I don't even-" I began to argue, before Urahara snapped his fan shut and cut me off. His eyes were dark as he spoke again.

"No arguments, Zetsumei-san. You won't let Inoue-san heal you, and if you move around too much, you'll die." He stated, standing and beginning to walk off. "We'll start teaching you how to take care of your powers and not die when you're healed!" He called back, disappearing before I could say a word. The red-haired kid was already walking up to me.  
"Hey thug! You better listen, 'cuz I'm not gonna be draggin' your body out the back door!" He pointed at me, speaking in a tone that I both hated and remembered quite fondly. Smirking slightly, I slapped his hand away from my face.

"Yer' all talk, kid. I know, 'cuz I was the exact same damn way when I was still a brat." I had picked up the cover, and it seemed nobody had noticed the tattoos either. The huge guy….Tessai, I think, walked up behind red-haired kid.

"Jinta, cease tormenting the guest." He spoke in a voice deep enough to match his size. Jinta and I both blinked, intimidated by the sheer size of the man. Surprisingly enough, he motioned back towards the same room I woke up in.

"Please come this way, Zetsumei-san. Seeing as you are heavily injured and are a prime target for hollows, you will be staying here until you are fully healed on your own. My name is Tessai, this is Jinta and that young girl at your side is Ururu."

I blinked. Girl? Right about then, a small hand gripped mine lightly and I jumped. Staring down, I saw the pigtails girl from earlier. So this was Ururu.

"Please come this way, miss Zetsumei." She spoke in a meek and quiet voice. I have to admit, my heart melted just a little bit for the kid. I nodded and let her lead me to the room, where she left me there and I laid back down on the futon to sleep it off while the group of total strangers moved around to find sleeping arrangements. It's just that they all were in some fucking psycho Ghostbuster club and I was sitting there like a moron while they all danced around behind my back. And I had no idea about it either. Dammit; it's just…fuck, I don't know what it just is!! I just…know that…

That it was all going to fall apart.

__________________________

"And everything was gonna be different from now on."

**((AN: Long chapter of boring explanations, but Inju didn't know. Even if we did. Remember, reviews brighten my horrific school days and propel me to write chapters during my free time. Instead of sleeping, ya know? New chapter prolly tomorrow, gais. Toodles!!))**


	7. The Kill Yourself Boredom Blues

**((AN: Chapter seven and we still don't have a pairing. This is depressing me. Though writing Shinji/Aizen yaoi is some sort of uplifting. You know, I'm leaning towards Grimmjow. And if anybody, ANYBODY AT ALL got the Zamiel thing (it does reference something), please let me know.))**

Little did I know, a whole shitload of things were beginning. And a shitload of them were ending, too.

____________________________________________

The next three or four days were spent lazing around my temporary room, taking the odd pills that have the skulls on them (not comforting) and generally being bored as fuck. And bored as fuck I was. Sitting around, staring at a wall, getting into arguing matches with Jinta and having lunch with Ururu and Orihime on occasion. Urahara, with his stupid stripey hat, wouldn't let me go outside or anything because APPARENTLY, these hollow thingies just sit outside doors and wait for people to walk out of them. Dammit.

Over those days, Urahara told me bits and pieces about this and that. Hollows don't usually attack living people; they attack wholes, the normal souls of dead humans. This is all invisible to normal living humans, so they might be getting devoured right in front of us and we'd never know.

"That's some fucked up shit." I remember telling him, in the middle of eating lunch. Ururu gave me lunches, because Jinta wasn't allowed to after nearly smashing me in the head with a bat after I told him his red hair made him look flaming. And I didn't mean it in the fiery sense, either. I got to see the "TESSAI DEATH CATCH" move, which was awesome, and then proceeded to get a lecture from Tessai. It was alright; Tessai's cool. I told him how much I liked the shop (lie) and he started crying from happiness. Kind of creepy, but he's a nice guy.

"It's how things work." Urahara had replied to me, stealing my tea for a sip. He ignored the semi-pissed look on my face so he could continue drinking my tea guilt-free.

"…Can't the shinigami things just sit around town to save them 'r somethin'?" I took a bite of rice, waiting for the genius answer. Instead, I got a serious reply. Doesn't happen too often with Urahara I've found out, to my ire.

"The war with Aizen has stretched them thin. They can barely do the shinigami duties around town that they're doing now, with all the hollow casualties."

I tried to get my tea back and Urahara leaned back to dodge the swipe.

"…If shinigami Taicho are so powerful, why the fuck can't they just wipe out the hollows with the bankai thingie?" I was very uninformed at that time, assuming that bankai was some kill-all move. Like a Fatality. Right about then, I half-saw Hitsugaya pull his face off to show a skull and breath fire on some hollow thing, melting it. It would have made me laugh, if we hadn't been talking about something serious. Urahara remained quiet for the longest time, before finally speaking.  
"…Some hollows are less monster than you've seen, Inju." Was all he would say, setting down a half-empty glass of tea in front of me before getting up and abandoning me in the room to die from boredom.

I did have one good friend in that room though. A kitty came around now and then, probably a stray. It just roamed here and there, occasionally dropping into the shop and coming in my room to be pet. I liked that cat, even if it had creepy yellowish golden eyes and didn't blink all that often. I'd pet it, tell it about the hell that was being stuck in this room, how things weren't this fucking crazy back in Kyoto. It always stared at me though, as if the kitty wanted me to keep talking. I obliged on all topics, minus Kyoto. I never went into detail about Kyoto. Always, when that topic rolled around in my monologue, I would say I was tired and shoo the kitty out so I could sleep. Sleep meant laying on the futon, staring off into space and wondering what the gang was doing. Not the Karakura Ghostbuster gang; I was still pretty pissed off at most of them for not telling me jack shit when I had the chance to get powers that'll probably kill me and/or be eaten by a monster.

No, I'd think about Rotting Dog. Wasn't the friendliest of places; a gang where we were all shooting for the top, and not even friends could keep us from our destination. Sure, we were cruel. But we were just one large group, everyone fighting for themselves and nobody else. This worked pretty well, actually. Surprisingly well. Amazingly well. And yeah, I trampled my share of the little people. Hell, I beat my share of the little people. But that's what they were to me; the little people, the ones that were meant to be stepping stones for the rest of us. We were the mongrels of our namesake. I was one of the top ones, more useful for fighting and brawling and dumping the occasional body. It's really not that bad a job, if you can get used to it. It's more or less dragging somebody who looks like they're sleeping out into a ditch or something. Kyoto CSI was pretty lazy and they didn't get shit funding from the state, so a lot of the murders went unsolved. It was better that way, for us and for them.

I was reminiscing right then, laying on my stomach when in walks Urahara, grinning like a moron. I blinked; this was bad.

"Congratulations, Zetsumei-san! You're healed enough to start training! And in good timing too; your reiatsu should start causing pain soon enough if it hasn't already." The bastard got that one perfect; right now, my body stung something fucking unbearable. I didn't show his correct guess though, merely blinked and rolled onto my ass.

"Can I get some clothes? You won't let me go home to get some more, I'm assuming. The school is already probably wondering where the hell I a-" Urahara cut me off with a sheet of paper shoved in my face. I took it and instantly knew what it was. Suspension, one week. Ooh, Urahara thinks he's SO much smarter than me right now. It was four days; that left me with three to train before going back into the wide, hollow-infested world.

"Fine, school is out of the way. But what abo-" A pair of skin-tight black pants and a black undershirt that clung was dropped into my lap. I stared a moment, before giving a 'Fucking hell'. Urahara grinned.

"See you in five minutes downstairs, Zetsumei-san!!" And before I could say a word, he had slipped out the door and run off to do God-knows-what, God-knows-where. Dammit. Changing into the clothes, I couldn't help but appreciate how much less baggy they were than my clothes. Good; they won't get in the way then. My hair was short and ragged; it didn't need to be put up as I walked out of the goddamn room from boredom Hell, glancing around to see Jinta standing in the back of the store, looking nonchalant. I blinked, walking up very cautiously to him, waiting for some sort of surprise attack.

"Hey Flamie, where's Urahara?"

The little bastard grinned, giving me a quick shove. I staggered back, into-

Thin air.

Staring down as I began to plummet, I saw that beneath the shop was a HUGE cavernous place. More importantly, I was falling through a trapdoor into said cavern which was at LEAST a hundred feet down.

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!" I couldn't help but screech as the ground began to come ever so much closer at a high speed. Right as I thought my brain was going to decorate said floor, something snatched me around the waist and landed easily. I blinked; nearly dying for the second time in a week. Wonderful.

"Not too light on yer' feet, eh?" A playful female voice snapped me from my reverie as I was dropped, landing on my ass. I stared up, dazed, at a gorgeous colored woman. Long purplish hair was in a ponytail, and creepily familiar golden eyes stared down at me. She was smiling, a hand on her hips. I blinked again, before speaking.

"Who the hell are you?" I stated, more or less just sitting there like a moron. She laughed and grabbed me by the wrist, pulling me easily up to my feet. A second voice cut the air cheerily, causing me to stare back with the blackest of glares.

"Yoruichi! Glad you brought down my new pupil. She's a little clumsy, you know?" Urahara said the insult behind his fan, as if I'd never be able to hear him if he did it like that. I glared harder. He ignored me. This Yoruichi woman laughed, grabbing me around the shoulders.

"Don't worry, I saved her! Might wanna see if Jinta's gonna knock any more people into their deaths though." She stated, casting a catty smirk up to the ladder. A red haired brat glared, as two giant arms grabbed him and slammed the trapdoor shut. I stared. This place was fucking weird. The woman shook me a little, and I pulled from her grip.

"Fuck! What is with all the weird shit around here??" I growled, as the Yoruichi woman looked to Urahara.

"Got a mouth on her, huh?" She queried to Urahara, who nodded behind his fan.

"She does." He looked to me again, smiling as stupid and kindly as always.

"This is Yoruichi Shihoin, a good friend of mine and your teacher! She's gonna teach you to be fast for when you strike. I've explained all your skills, so Yoruichi knows what to expect. I'll show you other things when you guys are done." He finished airily, walking off to God-knows-where. I was about to speak when he shouted a 'BEGIN' over his back, and Yoruichi, who was like five feet away, was suddenly grinning in my face. I jumped; she grabbed my arm.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" I yelled, and she threw me into a rock wall thing. Butte. Whatever. How the hell do I know that anyway? I collided with the rock, using my hands to absorb some of the blow before she was leaning from the top of it, grinning down at me.

"You're gonna be taking a beating if you don't attack, kid." She kicked her feet to emphasize, and jumped down. I growled, lunging forward to deliver a swing to that catty smiling face of hers. She caught it effortlessly, throwing me back one-handed to slam into the ground with a hiss.

"If you don't use reiatsu, then it's practically like Tyson fighting an infant." Yoruichi teased, a smirk on her face. Spitting, I stood again to run at her and try for a roundhouse kick to the side of her head. She caught it one-handed, holding me there and sweeping the other foot out from under me, before pinning me down to the ground.

"Too easy. For all those gang tattoos Kisuke told me about, you're not that dangerous." This pissed me off to no end. I swung an aching arm at her chest, feeling that hot prickling sensation again. She caught the punch, but another flash brightened for a second between us and she jumped off of me, shaking her hand slightly as if it were either numb or hurt very slightly. After a moment of staring at it, she looked to my now standing figure with a half-grin.

"You've got potential. Let's get started."

**((AN: Chapter seven, oh dear chapter seven. I think you're boring. Now, I know it's technically my fault for writing you, but I still think you're a little to blame for being the boring one. Oh, don't be like that. Where are you going?  
...Well, now that chapter seven has left me, I can move the uber-exciting chapter eight in! Reviews of chapter seven will be understandably slim, so I'm not too set on getting any. I'll be getting some for chapter eight, I'm sure of it. It'll be out either tonight (if I'm super bored), or tomorrow night. Need something to write during detention, anyway. Toodles!))**


	8. Pound Me In The Ass Blue Haired Death

**((AN: Thanks to another great review, thank you weaseldale, I'm working extremely hard on chapter eight. This one WILL be exciting, I promise you!))**

"You've got potential. Let's get started."

_____________________________

I had nearly missed the first day back to school, because of how extremely sore I was from psychobitch Shihoin's training. I swear, just hand-to-hand getting my ass handed to me. And what pissed me off the most was that she was obviously holding back. I hated that the most. That somebody couldn't go all out with me, because I wasn't tough enough. Slowly, she built up my reactions even higher than just gang brawls, where you throw as many punches as fast as possible to whatever you can hit. Unless it wasn't hand-to-hand, that required some planning. Bringing fists to a gunfight was a mistake I've made only once, because nobody told me there were gonna be guns. I'm the moron with no gun, and everyone's shooting at me. Got a bullet in the leg for that one. Mom sometimes said it should've been a better shot and got me in the head. We aren't all too close.

"Zetsumei-san!! You'll be late for school, if you don't hurry!" Urahara called back to me, ending the final word in a sing-song tone of voice. God, I hated this man. He had been showing me how to manipulate my reiatsu, and not kill myself by using too much in the little blows I exchanged with Yoruichi. She's seen my tattoos, and liked to point out how the letters on my stomach matched with the dragons on my chest made a smiley face if you looked at it in the right way. And Urahara piped in to point out that the smiley face had a unibrow, counting 'Zamiel' across my neck. I succeeded in failing completely at hitting either one, because of Yoruichi's damn shunpo and the fact that Urahara's a quick old bastard.

"I know, Urahara, I know!!" I shouted back, pissed. Pulling on my school long-sleeve (they made me wear one when I mentioned the tattoos) and my rape-bait porno skirt, I grabbed nothing at all to take to lunch and ran out the door. We'd agreed that I'd continue living at home and merely come to the Shoten so that I could train on mastering my reiatsu-release powers, as Urahara called them. Heading out, the trek to the school was aided by Abarai, who was staying at the Shoten as well. We walked mostly in silence, seeing as we hadn't actually spoken to each other directly yet. Around halfway there, however, my shirt must have slipped because he pointed out my tattoos.

"Hey, you got tattoos?" He queried, pointing at the "-miel" visible from my shirt. I pulled up the shirt, giving a 'yeah'.

"What, you didn't see them back in 'Guess what you're fucked' moment after getting my ass dusted by a hollow thing or whatever?" My snide comment came out reflexively; I'm not a friendly person, nor will I ever be. He seemed pretty used to it, probably that boss of his. Kookoochi or something.

"Noticed the dragons, not the letters." He stated, staring sideways at me. I shrugged; not my problem.

"Fine, whatever." I stated, walking into the school. We split up; I went to my classes and he went to his. Shitload of homework; did I plan to actually do any of it? Fuck. No. Hell, with how things are going, I'm not even gonna survive high school.

Lunch came around quickly, me hitting my locker up for another dip (God did I need one), and I shoved it in my lip before heading up to the roof. There, I met all of the Karakura Ghostbuster gang again, and we sat and talked about little things. This and that, really. Nothing big.

The day ended, I carted my homework down to Falling Apartments.

To find all my shit laying on the street.

A notice was pinned to my lamp, that my mother had quit paying for the apartment. I was evicted. Damn bitch; I got in a fight and she left me homeless. I fucking hate the whore. Schmoozing up with the big names in her company, letting her daughter rot in some no-name town with some creepy ghost shit happening and things trying to fucking eat me.

"…Fuck…" I groaned, sitting down on my clothes, randomly thrown into the dirt. The sky boomed and rain let down, drenching me and my shit. I stared at the sky for a moment, my hands held out in a 'What the fuck' kind of way.  
"ANYTHING ELSE??" I shouted to the sky, seeing nothing until thunder boomed again and lightning struck the tree behind me. I jumped back; unintentionally releasing some of that reiatsu shit and slamming to the ground on my ass. My heart hammered in my chest; the light was failing, and I sighed, soaked to the fucking bone. Standing, I picked out the shit I needed; contact book, some clothes, picture album, that's about it. Oh, and a can of dip. Grabbing a trash bag, I loaded my shit up like a fucking hobo and lugged it with me, wandering into the park and finding a nice tree to sit under. I heard something about being under trees in lightning storms as dangerous, but fuck. I was gonna be dead soon enough.

You know, laying in the mud under a tree in a lightning storm really gives you a notice of where you've ended up. Where was I back in Kyoto? I had an apartment, I had a gang, I had the fights, I had the drugs and I had a group of friends. They were drug addicts and the kind of people that'd kill you for a nickel, but then again, so was I. I had everything, everything you could possibly want to die having. And now I was laying in a quickly-growing mudpuddle, my knees to my chest in the icy rain. A homeless thug in a small town full of monsters that wanted to eat me, and people that wanted to kick my teeth in. I was nothing here.

"This is all…bullshit…" I muttered, amid chattering teeth. A lesser person would have been crying over their shit luck. I was cursing every living thing in the entire world. I swear, I called every angel and devil around two hundred bad names and then worked my way up to Kurosaki. Fuck, Ishida showed up every other name. The only one I didn't say was Orihime; she was good to me. Hell, she'd probably have an aneurism if she saw me here, and not in her apartment or the Shoten. But stupid pride wouldn't let me just go to her and say, 'My only living family hates me and I'm homeless. Can I stay here and leech off of you?'. No, I had to be a jackass and say, 'fuck no, I'll get hypothermia'.

I don't exactly remember when I fell asleep, but I do remember that when I woke up that Orihime and Kurosaki were shaking me. They looked really worried. I couldn't feel my legs. Or my arms. Or breathe very well, if we're getting technical. Hell, I couldn't feel anything. Kurosaki slung me over his shoulder, again, and the three of us headed to the place I didn't want to go for anything ever.

"Hello!" A cheery voice sounded as we rushed in the door to the Urahara Shoten. Orihime was carrying my stuff, what a nice girl. My mind was fuzzy; I wasn't thinking straight, obviously. Thinking people were 'nice girls'. Orihime was, but still.

"Kurosaki-san what a-" Urahara cut off, probably seeing me. My eyes were shut; I wanted to go back to sleep. Every time I would try though, Kurosaki bounced me or some shit like that to keep me up. It was pissing me off, in that dreamy state. Urahara became (gasp) serious for one fucking minute in time, rushing over to look at me intently.  
"…She's very cold. Orihime, go to the back room and get as many blankets as you can find. Where did you find her?"

He spoke very quickly, taking my pulse. Kurosaki answered him.

"She was in the park, under a tree. I think she got thrown out of her apartment or something." He stated, as Orihime rushed off to the back room. Kurosaki followed, and dropped me off on a futon before Orihime smothered me with covers and blankets. I didn't care; it was warm and I was cold. I was so cold.

That night was probably the second worst of my entire life. Worse than nearly being eaten by a hollow, worse than getting my ass kicked in a school fight, worse than near anything. The only thing worse than that, that I can remember, is probably the night I went to a party, went on a cocaine bender and passed out on the floor in my own puke. Oh, the withdrawals.

Orihime insisted on staying over to help me, but Urahara told her no. She had school; I wouldn't be there in the morning. Kurosaki just went home; I didn't get the chance to thank him for bringing me back. Fuck 'em then. Urahara poked in now and then and Ururu sat with me a lot, and we talked. Jinta came in now and then, and when they weren't there, that kitty came back too. I liked talking to Ururu, and me an' Jinta had some sort of weird rivalry going on. But I could just talk about anything to that kitty. It didn't look like it was judging me when it stared, so I didn't worry about it and just spoke. About how much I hated Ishida, about school, about how much all of this hollow shit was freaking me out. And a little bit about Mom too. Just a little, but I mentioned how Mom threw me out of my apartment because I fought all the time, and cost her a lot of money in hospital bills. Fuck the bitch; she can go sleep with the new boss of the week and get shot for all I care. I know she thinks the same thing about me too. The cat would lay with me and let me pet it while I droned on and on about things, and it was a pretty soft kitty too. I was always kind of depressed when it left.

Two days later, and after a nasty ass head cold, and I was kind of normal again. Still had a head cold, but I was pretty much fine. Urahara told me I could stay at the Shoten until I found another place. I'm pretty sure he understood that I didn't want to sap off of anyone else, especially Orihime. But him, I could say it was for training. You know, he was pretty damn annoying but Kisuke Urahara wasn't a bad guy. And Yoruichi wasn't all too bad either, kinda like some sort of insane big sister that made me wear her clothes, after we found that all of mine were ruined. Damn her clothes were tight; can't believe she trained in these things. I was wearing them at the moment I was walking to Orihime's house, to get some normal walk around town clothes from her. Sure her chest was a size bigger than mine. Fuck, maybe even two sizes bigger. But these Yoruichi clothes were tight, uncomfortably so. Maybe for training around an hour or so, but I couldn't walk around in them all day.

"Orihime…can I come over and grab some clothes from you? Yoruichi's are too tight to walk around in, and Urahara keeps trying to get me into wearing smaller versions of his freaky outfit." I called her, and she said it'd be fine. Hell yes; no more attempted forced geta wearing! She said that if I wanted, I could stay the night with her and Matsumoto too and we'd have some super awesome sleepover. Of course, Orihime used a whole lot of weird adjectives that I'm not able to remember, but I think 'Ice cream' and 'tunafish' were in there somewhere. Whatever, I could deal with a tunafish ice cream sleepover with Orihime Inoue and Rangiku Matsumoto. Just to get out of the Shoten.

The night was clear and remarkably still as I walked in, to find Orihime crying on the chest of a naked Matsomoto. I blinked, they blinked.

"I'munna be in yer' room, alright?" I stated in a half question, and as Orihime nodded I walked into her room, admiring the eclectic (Read: Epileptic) style it was decorated in. Colorful, and quaint. Too bad for Mom that I couldn't have been the daughter that Orihime would have been. Pretty, quiet and kind. No, I was thuggish, loud and one mean bitch. How anyone in the world outside of Rotting Dog put up with me, I'd never know.

Orihime walked in, laughing slightly at the awkward moment from before. She didn't offer any explanations; I didn't ask. Instead, she dragged me to the closet with a smile.  
"I know you said your clothes were from Shihoin-san and really tight, so I thought you'd want something kinda loose!" She half-yelled, throwing an assortment of jeans and cute shirts with bright pastel colors and smiley faces and all that. I didn't want to say that these clothes weren't quite my style, didn't want to be rude to one of my only friends. What the hell was Karakura doing to me?! Now I don't want to be rude to people?? When the HELL did that happen??

Orihime must have seen me in turmoil, because she proceeded to throw some more shirts at me with solid colors and simple patterns, like stripes and polka dots. I particularly liked one T-shirt that was a deep royal blue with two stripes of white going down from the left shoulder down to the right hip. Orihime let me change into the clothes, nice loose jeans and the clinging shirt. It certainly accentuated tits; I wonder if Orihime knew she was making her chest look bigger, or if she was oblivious. From looking at her smiling face, I'm thinking the second one.

We walked out together, me leaving the Yoruichi clothes on her bed and the three of us sat together for chocolate ice cream that I hafta admit was damn good. And looking at the three of us laughing and carrying on in the middle of Orihime's living room, I vaguely realized that I was finally content with having 'girl time' instead of cracking skulls for chump change.

"An' so, I was like 'WOW!!', an' Tatsuki started kicking the guy right in the head just to make me laugh!!" I laughed at this, as Orihime accentuated with stomping actions onto a pillow. Matsumoto was about to whip out the sake for me and her, when something crushed onto us and destroyed the entire joyful mood. Matsumoto shot up onto her feet running out onto the balcony as Orihime staggered to her feet, staring with wide eyes. A moment later, and there were two Matsumotos, one in her night clothes and one in that shinigami uniform I heard Ayasegawa and Madarame talking about. Shihakusho, or something. I saw her jump off with Hitsugaya, the apparently fake Matsumoto coming back into the room and locking the door.

"Inoue-san, Zetsumei-san. There have been confirmed reiatsus of Arrancar. I will be staying with you until it is over." The tone was obviously not of Matsumoto's, different. I didn't like it, and Orihime just nodded. Fake Matsumoto nodded with a strained smile, turning away to go and lock the other doors and windows. As soon as she was out of the room, I was grabbing my coat from the chair and already marching off towards the balcony. Orihime grabbed the sleeve of my coat, gripping it tightly.  
"I-Inju!! Where are you going??" She spoke rapidly, in a whisper. I turned back to her, the shirt she gave me cut low enough to show 'Zamiel' across my neck.

"Orihime, I'm going to check it out. If I can't help, I at least wanna know what the fuck I'm gonna be dealin' with in this war." I stated in a tone full of false bravado. I knew going out there would be risking my life and my soul, but that thuggish itch in me wanted some of the action. I knew that if I stayed here cowering and someone died because I didn't help, I'd never be able to forgive myself. Orihime went to argue, but stopped at the look in my eyes. I guess I looked pretty set on it, because she just looked down and said a quiet, "Inju, be careful. Don't get hurt, okay?"

That damn near made me stay. Someone actually wanted me to be safe, to not die or get hurt. And not just because getting bullets pulled out is expensive as shit, either. I know I should have just nodded, should have just said a quick 'Of course, Orihime. I promise.'. But I knew I couldn't promise that, and so I grabbed Orihime in a tight hug, seemingly spooking her for a moment before she hugged me back, tight.

"…I'll live, Orihime." I said quietly, before tearing away at Fake Matsumoto's approaching footsteps and running to the balcony. It was kind of high up, but I knew I could handle it. One last glance was paid to Orihime Inoue and Fake Matsumoto, who was running at me with a half angry, half afraid look in her eyes. I scoffed, jumping down and bending my knees as I hit the concrete, already pounding off down the street towards the closest of the crushing reiatsus. It was gritty, and it left a bad taste in my mouth but I continued to run, wanting to put as much distance between Fake Matsumoto and I as possible. My longish black coat, one of the only articles of clothing to survive the rainstorm, flew behind me as I ran to where I thought I could feel them smashing down upon my soul. Urahara told me that I could sense reiatsu just like everyone else with spiritual powers, although my threshold was admittedly lower with my powers being newer and all. I turned a corner, running right to see-

Ichigo Kurosaki flew into a wall right next to me as I turned the corner, causing me to jump like a little bitch. I nearly yelped, before realizing that somebody had the force to throw Powerhouse Kurosaki into a wall. AND BREAK THE WALL.

Kurosaki got out of the wall with a stagger, looking to the opponent and then to me with a snarl.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" He shouted at me, and I snarled back. He was in a new outfit, it seemed. A black coat, and his sword had shrunk to a thin black version. I could practically taste the rough and gritty reiatsu coming from him, my own much weaker version flaring and pressing back against it.

"None of your fucking business, Kurosaki!" I spat, words venomous as I heard a rough, growling voice. Just the tone scared me shitless, and that doesn't happen too often anymore.

"Hey girls, quit shootin' the shit. Shinigami and I have somethin' to finish." A male voice sounded, laziness in his tone. Kurosaki began to ignore me it seemed, focusing on his opponent. He gripped Zangetsu (I'd heard the name in passing a couple of times in conversation) tighter, turning away from me.

"Get back to wherever the hell you were before. You aren't needed." He growled at me, as I blanched. Those last three words. Oh, how they always made me do stupid shit.

"LIKE HELL I'M NOT!!" I roared, giving him a shove and wheeling around to confront the opponent able to punt the guy a thousand times stronger than me through a fucking wall, like a football.

I noted that he had blue hair, short and wild. His eyes were around the same, feral and an intense blue. He wore some weird white outfit kind of similar to the shinigami's, except white and this guy had an open vest on without a shirt under it. He was high above us, standing on thin air with his hands in his pockets in a bored fashion. A sword was at his hip; I assumed it was a zanpakuto or something like that. A perfect hole was through his stomach, where his navel should be. That meant-

"Hey!" He barked, as he glared down at me. Apparently, Ichigo had tripped on something and fallen back into his hole in the side of a building, and was now trying to dig himself out.

"Bitch, out of the way. You ain't worth my time." He landed easily, walking forward towards Kurosaki and I. Swear to whatever sick and twisted God that made these things, I stopped breathing. This guy's reiatsu was so intense, it stole my breath. I spat, forcing air into my lungs and walked forward to meet him on the way.

"Pussy just don't wanna fight." I snarled back, seemingly pissing him off. Great.

Rule one of gang fights; Look like you're tough shit and act like you can beat anybody's ass. Rule two; don't start up fights where you know for a fact you'll lose. I was breaking number two as I stalked forward, hands in fists at my side. My steps were getting more and more forced as we closed the distance; my reiatsu was so much weaker than this guy's, it wasn't even funny. Or sane. At all. Hell, I'm not sane either so it's not that unexpected for me to go suicidal just because of pride.

We stopped a good distance from each other, around five or six feet. He was either examining what kinda threat I was or was just looking me over because Orihime, innocent as she was, had kind of slutty taste in clothes.

"Trying to get yourself killed, mouthy little bitch?" He wasn't at all threatened by me. Dammit.

"Heh, maybe. Wouldn't be the first time I've done some stupid shit and started a fight I wouldn't win." I shot back, before lashing out for a punch to his face. I saw the little bit of what looked like a jawbone on the right side of his face. I only saw it for a second as the reiatsu I mustered for the punch was crushed instantly as he caught my hand like it was nothing. I blanched, but gritted my teeth and swung for his kidneys or something. He caught that too, seemingly amused to some extent at the kid who talked a helluva lot of shit, but couldn't back any of it up.

"I can tell." He stated nonchalantly, the reiatsu in his left hand raising to heights I couldn't bear. Neither could my hand, as I heard a symphony of cracks and snaps. Bastard raised it so high as to crush my bones with it. I screamed, but bit it off as he smirked.

"Scream well 'nough though."

I couldn't even track the speed of the bright blast of red light flashing through the uninjured hand. I screamed again, shriller than before and unimpeded. Some flash of something had blasted a hole clean through my palm, going off to crash into a building. A sharp barking laugh and he let go of my hands, kicking me hard in the gut and watching me soar back into a building, the same amount of force applied as with Kurosaki. I heard bones break; I didn't even know which ones fucking broke because everything hurt so fucking bad. I cried out, a shout of various obscenities and various people (Ishida included) being sworn at. Rolling onto my stomach, I used my elbows and wrists to support me as I looked up to the blue bastard, grinning down at me. Apparently, I was fun now. In one swift move, he snatched me by the front of my shirt and held me off the ground by a foot or two, hands limp and useless.

"Giving up?" He queried smugly. I spat at him.

"Fuck you."

This pissed him off apparently, and an open palm was pressed against the side of my head, a bright light glaring against my flesh, forcing me to close one eye. It was more powerful than the last one, I could feel it.

This is it. This is how I die. This, getting blown apart by a blue-haired homicidal dick, is my death.

_Why the fuck am I cannon fodder??_

_...What will Orihime think. About the promise._

_I lied._

"See ya, little bitch." He snarled, the light growing to an almost blinding level. I gritted my teeth, and in one last-ditch attempt swung the hand with the hole through it to try and swat him with all the reiatsu I could muster. His hands were busy; it connected in my feeble punch attempt and I swear to nonexistent God that it didn't leave a scratch. Not even an itty-bitty mark. All that I could bring forth, and he didn't even flinch.

"Weak." He stated, apparently unfazed by the attempt. I was about to die.

"…Fuck off, pound-me-in-the-ass blue hair…" I left a parting shot, as the ball of light fired.

_________

"I just keep waking up, and sayin' to myself; "What the fuck am I doin' still here?"

**((AN: Cliffhanger! Long chapter, I know, but mixing together two large events takes a lot of space. Next one should be normal sized. Hopefully out tonight, maybe out tomorrow. Toodles!))**


	9. One Last Smoke For The Flight Risk

**((AN: Big cliffhanger last time, but I'm resolving it tonight. And it's official; the pairing for this is set, and the poll is closed. Couldn't you just feel the love in the last chapter?))**

I closed my eyes as the bright light of this blue bastard's attack blinded me, even through the lids.

"Fuck off, pound-me-in-the-ass blue hair."

___

Right as I felt the white-hot feeling of the attack begin to sear my skin, the world went off kilter and I slammed into the ground, the building behind me getting a new blast hole through it. I stared down to my shoulder; oh wonder-fucking-ful, there was a hole in my shoulder. I didn't particularly care right now, instead watching Kurosaki and the bastard square off over me. Apparently, Kurosaki attacked and forced the bastard to let go of me, but the attack didn't miss as completely as I'd have liked. I just watched, watched Kurosaki get his ass handed to him almost as completely as I did.

Right as Bastard was about to draw his sword, and after Kurosaki did a stunning (I'd be more stunned if I wasn't woozy from blood loss by now) attack, some weird black thingie, a new guy with techno rave or Star Trek glasses, dreadlocks, and what looked like a skirt uniform thing showed up out of nowhere and apparently reigned in Bastard. I couldn't hear what was said from way down on the ground, and as far back as I was. They turned to go, and Kurosaki yelled at them. I rolled onto my stomach, staring up at it all. I heard the name; I heard it well. I heard Bastard start talking shit again, and look down to Kurosaki and I. That man the most insane grin as he spoke his name, barked it out to the both of us. I know he must have looked at me at least once, because I got that feeling of a white-hot glare on my face.

"Grimmjow Jeagerjaques!"

He had a name other than Bastard. Dammit, I'd have to call him by name now.

"Remember my name, because the next time you hear it, you're dead meat, shinigami! And your fuckin' whore, too!"

I heard my nickname and spat, growling at him as he left.

"FUCK YOU!!!" I managed to shout, seeing one last glance to me as the gap in the sky closed like jaws. He was gone, and Abarai came staggering up to Kurosaki. Was I ignored? I think so. Dammit. They talked about something, Kurosaki seemed to get all emo, and then he seemed to remember that I existed. Right about then, I was halfway through passing out from blood loss again. Please, whatever God could possibly exist, don't let them take me to the Shoten.

The environment flickered out of view and I laid my head on my forearms, closing my eyes. Die or not, I wanted to sleep now.

"…What?!" I heard someone yell, as I woke up on something soft. Something musty, that smelled familiar. FUCKING DAMMIT THEY TOOK ME TO THE SHOTEN. I reached up to my head; someone had healed my injuries. I was just supposed to be sleeping now. And from the tone of voice outside my door, someone was pissed.

"I told you, she ran out on my gigai and Orihime to go fight the Arrancar-" Matsumoto's voice spoke in an attempt to soothe a bad situation. Oh great, it was about me. A hand was laid to my face, as a musty cover was jerked over my head. Damn Urahara should have made the walls thicker.

"She's a moron! We could barely take them, and some human kid thinks she's bad enough to go toe-to-toe with the one that-" I could hear Madarame right through the wall. The mudslinging was ignored, albeit pissily. I was damn tired.

"Shut up! Alright, we know she's a moron, but next time one of us is gonna keep an eye on her to make sure she doesn't go and get killed." Oh, damn these people. Damn them to hell. Especially you, Rukia.

"…Alright." Urahara's voice sounded, and the room fell silent.

"She won't leave the Shoten from now on, unless there's a guard with her. Inju is from a rough background; she thinks she can handle anything. Well, she can't. We're going to have to remind her that she's not going to run the show and put herself and us in danger."

FUCK. THAT. SHIT. I was already getting dressed silently, seeing that Orihime's nice shirt was ruined and that all I had was some of Yoruichi's clothes, I got changed into that and looked around for an escape route. A small window was up, above me. It would be a tight squeeze, but I'd be able to make it if I tried. With the smallest of 'Hup!'s, I jumped up towards the window and succeeded in getting a good hold on it. Working my repaired fingers under it, I opened it but with a loud squeak. Damn old windows. I pushed it open hurried, now ignoring the sound note as footsteps came quickly to the door. As I threw it open with haste and pulled myself through, I heard the door open and a cry of me running off or something. I ignored it, kicking through the window and gripping the few things I had in their trash bag. I think someone almost got my ankle as I pushed through, but they must have lost hold because I was free and running my ass off. Someone yelled about being overheard, but I didn't pay attention and kept on running.

These people, they'd tried to cage me too. Call me selfish…fuck, call me a self-absorbed thug who won't let anyone else close, but I…that was the one thing I wouldn't let anyone do anymore. I know what happens to people that get caught in something way too big for themselves; they get cut out of the plan. Nixed. Killed. I knew so much already; it was only a matter of time until they decided I was too much of a risk and decided to kill me. I mean, they were all trained killers. They wouldn't have a problem taking me down, would they? Just another brat who knows too much for her own good. That's Inju Zetsumei. That's me. Someone who just got in too deep, and got in too much for her own sake.

I kept running, my few possessions on my back as I did. Where could I possibly go? Not Falling Apartments; they evicted me. Not the Urahara Shoten; they were going to kill me, I was sure of it. Call it paranoia. I've got a good enough reason to have it too. HE got involved with something bigger than him, and where is HE now? Six fucking feet under, that's where. Not Orihime's house; she'd take me back once she found out, if she wasn't chasing me down right now. I didn't have a home anymore. Nowhere. And I didn't even have a gang to crash with, like when Mom decided to get too rough for my tastes back in Kyoto. I was alone here.

I came to a slow stop, right in front of the crash scene from earlier. Where I'd gotten my ass kicked, and lost my hands. Glad enough to have them back; I wished I could have thanked Orihime. I turned and kept walking, eventually finding my way to the school. It must have been four or five in the morning, but I didn't care. From the back of the building, I used the window ledges to climb up to the roof, some help from trees as well. Tomorrow…today was Saturday, that meant I had the weekend to crash on the roof and then maybe go rot in a sewer somewhere. It didn't matter; anywhere that I could sleep. Anywhere they wouldn't find me, at least for a little while. If my reiatsu was so completely restricted, then they couldn't find me all that easily as long as I didn't let it out in any kind of burst. That'd depend on if a hollow could get to the roof or not.

Dropping onto the roof, I curled in a corner of the railing, away from prying eyes but where I could watch the sunrise. I laid there for a long time, I think, because when I was done watching the sun rise, the sky was tinged with tendrils of deep pink and purples and blues. How long had it been since I was awake at this hour, just staring at the sky? I don't know. Too long. Entirely too long.

The cold chill of six A.M. air bit at my face as I dug into the trash bag, grabbing at a pack of smokes. I did both chew and smokes, one or the other. Depends on if I felt like sucking on something tasteless or felt like spearmint. I just wanted to get rid of the headache right now, and I knew that smoking would calm my nerves. Even for a moment. I lit up and took the longest drag of my life, leaning against the railing and staring off at the dawn. At the beautiful sunrise painting the sky.

"The talk of the town is she's goin' down. I'm sorry but the party's over." I stated to myself in a slight musical tone, smoke blowing out with my words. A part from one of the songs I liked. A moment of continued staring, another puff of smoke.

"Is there anywhere more down than where I am?" I queried nobody at all, rubbing out my smoke and getting a new one. Oh well, if I got lung cancer and died, now I know what to look forward to after I die. A new, hard life just like this one. Maybe I can get into Zaraki's company and kick asses for fun. If Aizen doesn't nuke everything before I get the chance, of course.

"Hsss…" I blew out the smoke, between my teeth before taking another drag and speaking with the smoke in my words.

"Nah. I don't think we ever had a party to end."

The silence stretched on for an eternity, it felt like. I loved it, the serenity. Now that I look back on it, I think that was some sort of odd precognition. Somehow, I knew that I wouldn't have a moment like this for a very long time, if at all. And with one word, it all shattered like glass.

"Onna."

A chilling voice cut behind me. What the fuck, I didn't hear anyone coming up. Turning around, I met the eyes of something I immediately knew was possibly the worst thing to see. I could just feel it.

Short black hair, and bright emerald eyes were the first things I saw. That, and the two green tear streaks going down his cheeks from his eyes. His skin was pale white, and the remnants of what looked like a helmet sat on top of his head. By the outfit and what little reiatsu I could sense. This was another Arrancar. And his next words made the cigarette drop from my mouth like a cement block.

"Onna. Woman, if you prefer. You will be escorted to Aizen-sama's domain, Las Noches."

_______

the cameras are gone  
and nobody screams  
she couldn't survive her fifteen minutes of fame  
her friends are all gone,  
she's going insane  
she'll never survive without the money and fame  
it's all going down the drain..

_______

**((AN: Cliffhanger again! Yes, the Aizen kidnapping is a little cliché, but I had to. And now, I have another dilemma. We have the Inju pairing. But I need help with the Orihime pairing now. Stuck between Ulquiorra and Ichigo, and I can't pick. A little bit of help, dear readers? Next chapter out tomorrow probably, tonight if I'm feeling insanely motivated or something. By the way, I don't own Bleach and the song parts are from Hollywood Whore by Papa Roach. It fits Inju creepily, to me at least. Toodles!!))**


	10. Goodbye Princess

**((AN: Big old Chapter 10. And it's getting climactic, isn't it? More thanks to weaseldale and I'llxBexUrxEnigma2010, my two favorite (and only) reviewers. Aren't you guys glad I'm above going all 'Chapters for reviews' on you? No, I like writing too much and I wouldn't want to disappoint my two wonderfundel reviewers. Get ready for drama in this one!))**

"Onna. Woman, if you prefer. You are to be escorted to Aizen-sama's domain, Las Noches."

_____

I stared a moment, not daring to move. The really emo looking guy stared a moment longer. Without blinking. Holy fuck that's creepy.

"…What if I fucking say no?" I spoke steadily, staring at him as evenly as he was staring at me. A bluff; I knew I was fucked over to a major extent on this one. Emobitch didn't really react at all, just delivered an ultimatum.

"You will come with me, or I will kill your pathetic human and shinigami friends." Dammit, I knew he'd go for that one. I scoffed, shakily.

"I don't have friends anymore. Bet you saw that little escape back there, huh?" I challenged, standing. He didn't blink. Damn this guy was unmovable.

"Inoue Orihime." He stated, causing me to blanch. I stared down at my feet for a little while, before gritting my teeth and rubbing the still-lit cigarette near my foot. My hands in my pockets, I looked up at the guy. I didn't dare attack; my blind attempt on Grimmjow had told me that doing that was an extremely bad idea.

"…How long 'till then?" I don't know why I asked such a stupid question, but he tossed something at me. I caught it easily, taking a look at some freaky bracelet looking thing.

"Wear that bracelet and you will be invisible to them for the remainder of the time you spend here. You have today." Emobitch narrated in monotone, as I stared at the thing. It was too cold to be natural, and me holding it wasn't making it any warmer.

"If you refuse, then Inoue Orihime will die. Be back in this area at midnight and we will leave." Emobitch stated, touching thin air and splitting it into that gaping maw I had seen Rave Dude and Grimmjow go through after I got my ass kicked.

"I am Ulquiorra Schiffer. Remember the name." He stated again, stepping into the hole and watching me closely as it closed and I was left alone. With a stare at the bracelet in my palm, I 'tched' and let it slip down onto my wrist. Now it was like I didn't exist at all, and nobody would ever know I was kidnapped. Hell, they might even think I skipped town or something, and they'll never know where I really am.

With a sigh so long I thought I'd suffocate, I picked up the crunched smoke, now bent and barely lit, and stuck it back in my mouth. Taking the longest drag of my entire life, I stared out towards the sunrise and blew out a cloud of smoke. It hung in the air, as I spoke to no one and to any of the Aizen psychos that might be watching.

"…Party's over."

Really, it wasn't all that hard to see them all walking around, heading here and there. Apparently, my schedule was way off and it was Friday instead of Saturday. Getting thrown through a couple buildings messes up your head a bit. So I followed them around at school, for lack of anything better to do. I assumed that any kind of contact would result in ULQUIORRA'S EMO WRATH, so I didn't even try to write a note or anything. Just walked after them all in a daze, watching them blow right past me. I knew I wasn't all too important, but they weren't even talking about me! Not even a passing mention at lunch, on the roof I'd go to probably get killed at midnight. I leaned against the railing, watching them all silently. Fiddling with the icy cold bracelet, wondering if it would be worth it just to rip the thing off and tell them everything. I didn't.

Orihime just chatted with them all about nonsensical things, the normal Orihime things. I liked her the most, out of everyone. She was too nice for her own good. I know what happens to nice people; maybe it was just a protective reaction I had to her. I can't say that her not talking about me either didn't hurt though; I thought we were good friends. Tch, whatever. Not the first time I thought I had a good friend that wasn't all that good in the end. I couldn't hate Orihime for it though. Never hate her.

Around the middle of lunch, I jumped down from the roof and traced back to the Shoten. I knew that if the bracelet didn't work, it wasn't my fault but I was still kind of nervous Urahara'd do some crazy matrix shit and see me. He wasn't out in the open right now though, so I was safe for now. I got a last glance at the room I escaped from, half wondering that if I hadn't been such a selfish bitch, maybe I'd be laying there right now as bored as hell and not about to go die. I changed into my semi-comfortable school uniform and fixed the bed before I left, even cleaned up the mess I'd caused with my escape. A little bit, not enough for any normal person to notice.

Next it was Falling Apartments, to stare at the place I was living in until Mom decided to throw me out into the streets. I didn't bother to check the mail, and to this day I still wish I had grabbed the letter inside.

Instead, I walked as slow as possible to Orihime's apartment. I wanted to savor the walk, the crickets and the nightingales and all the mosquitoes. All of it. Because I knew that I probably wasn't going to see it again for a very long time, if at all. The sun was setting, and I saw Orihime sitting on the bank of the river, staring off into space. I couldn't help it; I went and stood next to her sitting form, oblivious to me. The river was calm, serene noises of water surrounded us. The rest of the world melted away, as I watched little things buzzing around in the air. Orihime had her hand out in some sort of ritual. One of the buzzing things buzzed in my face, and I recognized it.

"…Red dragonflies…" I stated, seeing her holding her finger out. The dragonflies didn't do anything, only buzzed around her. I sat down next to her, watching. For a long time it seemed, I just saw her try and do something with the dragonflies, and fail. Then, I couldn't help but start speaking. Even if she couldn't hear me right now, I had to tell her.

"…Orihime…I know you…can't hear me right now…" My voice was choked, and I slowly continued, even though she was oblivious.

"I…I kept my promise. I couldn't stay here, but I kept my promise. I'm still…alive. I…I'm leaving soon, but I'm doing it…to protect you. I can't let you get hurt…get killed…because of me."

The words wouldn't come out, and I watched her try and have the dragonflies do something. For some reason, I stretched out my hand and mimicked her, waiting for something. We waited there, for God knows how long. Just waited, and for the first time in a long time I was content with just sitting with someone. I blinked, surprised, as a red dragonfly landed on the tip of my finger, another one landing on hers. I smiled, as she giggled at it. My eyes were getting hot, and my vision blurred.

"Inju would love these!" Orihime giggled, as our dragonflies turned around on our fingertips. That was too much. I felt hot tears spill down my cheeks, watching Orihime.

"I'm…I'm so sorry, Orihime…"

I said quietly, watching her. She really was the most important person to me, the best friend I had ever had. Our dragonflies lifted off to join the swarm again, leaving us to drop our arms silently. Orihime looked contented; that was all I had wanted. I reached forward to her, gently brushing hair behind her ear. I swear I saw her hair clip twinkle, but my vision was slightly impaired by tears. I could have been wrong.

Orihime giggled, her laugh like the tinkling of bells, and I kept sitting, just watching. Ichigo and Tatsuki were coming from far off, waving to her. She jumped up, waving back.

"Kurosaki-kun!! Tatsuki!!" She called out, walking towards them with a bright smile. I stayed behind, sitting right there and watching her meet up with them from behind tears.

'_She's better off with them. They'll take care of her.'_

It was my last thought as I stood, and Orihime turned back to look at the river. I thought for a split second she was looking at me, but I saw her eyes not looking at me. Looking through me.

We shared the moment, both still and in deep thought, staring right through each other. The buzzing red dragonflies all around us, like a storm.

"…Goodbye, Orihime."

It ended much too soon, Kurosaki calling her name again and her turning around, laughing and running off to meet them. I watched her go, not daring to break the soft serenity.

I turned around, walking towards the school with the heaviest of hearts and leaving the giggles and laughs at my back, in the falling darkness. It was too long, much too long. Right now, I didn't want to think about anything. Or feel anything. I wiped my eyes, trying to calm down after my crying fit back with Orihime. I hadn't cried in years, but I wasn't ashamed of it this time. The climb to the roof was a lot worse than before, and as the night settled into blackness I stood tall on top of the building. One last trip had been made at the beginning of the day, before my Orihime moment. My things were left in good hands, back in Orihime's apartment. And now I stood tall, as the empty air split and the figure of Ulquiorra Schiffer stepped forward, staring at me evenly.

"You have arrived. We are leaving now for Las Noches." His voice was icy cold. I didn't respond as combatively as I wanted to, now spent from my goodbye to Orihime.

"…Whatever. Let's just go." I said in equal monotone, as he turned sideways, the gaping maw open to me. I walked forward, stepping into the icy whiteness and waiting as Ulquiorra Schiffer followed me inside. One last stare to the small and very odd town of Karakura before the gate snapped closed, and we were gone from the world.

**((AN:…That was a bittersweet chapter. I'm just a sissy, I guess, because I teared up writing the goodbye to Orihime. Now, Inju gets to meet the cheery residents of sunny Hueco Mundo! Reviews always appreciated, remember the fact! New chapter out today or tonight, depending on nothing at all. Toodles!))**


	11. Hello Las Noches

**((AN: Chapter eleven, the first meeting of Inju with the Arrancar of Las Noches. Oh yes, there will be blood. Orihime pairing now decided; Inju's pairing starting to get moving soon enough. Thanks!))**

One last glance at the small and odd town of Karakura, before the gate shut and we were gone from the world.

_________________________________________**  
**

It was a quick moment that we were going through the gate. But it felt like years, it seemed. Ulquiorra and I stepped out of the thing, onto the bleached white sands of an endless desert. I stared around, bleakly, at my new environment. Gnarled trees and pure white sands, a dark sky of the blackest night. The moon was…wrong. It was backwards. And in front of us, was the largest white building I had ever seen.

"Woman, come along." I heard Ulquiorra's icy voice and snapped from my bleak reverie, now staring at him. He grabbed me by my arm, dragging me forward as we began to walk. I didn't fight, seeing the empty and vast desert. It kind of killed the rebel mood for now, with all that was happening. We walked for a couple minutes or two, before I sighed.

"The big building isn't getting closer." I stated, and he glanced back a moment. In a flash, I was dragged in front of him and we were moving too fast for comfort, inhumanely fast. Was this what shunpo felt like? It made me sick.

"Leggo!" I tried to get away, but his grip was steel and eventually, we were at the gate.

"The arrival time was sped up by at the very least by three to four days. Do not complain." Ulquiorra stated in monotone, still gripping my tight by the wrist as he dragged me inside.

"Why the hell didn't you open the mouth thing in this place?!" I growled, just trying to keep up with his brisk pace. Ulquiorra was the most impassive person I'd ever seen; all he did was answer questions or ignore them.

"We are required to open Gargantua outside of Las Noches and sonido to the gate for if any undesirables were to either force or fall into the Gargantua before it closed. The intruders are left to rot in the Hueco Mundo desert while the Espada sonidos to the gate and leaves them behind."

He gave a sharp tug, causing me to stumble forward before he stopped in front of a large pair of doors. With a push, they opened for him and he dragged me inside to stand in the middle of a dark room, releasing my reddening wrist and stepping slightly back from me.

"The prisoner has been acquired, Aizen-sama." His cold monotone cut the still air, and I stared around in the dark. So many crushing reiatsus.

"Very good, Ulquiorra."

A smooth voice sliced the still air, cutting through the mood. I turned, staring up, up, up. At a man on a throne high above me. It was a man in white with a red belt, staring down on me with a small smile. He had a mullet kind of thing with a bitch curl in front, that one piece of hair hanging in his face. He smiled kindly enough, but the look in his eyes chilled me to the bone.

"Hai, Aizen-sama." Ulquiorra said somewhere far-off, it seemed to me. Aizen smiled down on me, condescendingly. I could tell that whatever kindness he had was fake; the warmth was lost from his sharp eyes.

"Inju Zetsumei. The newest human to develop spiritual powers because of Kurosaki Ichigo's influence. My name is Sousuke Aizen, and welcome to Las Noches."

He leaned his chin on his fist slightly, smiling down self-importantly down on me.

"I do hope that your trip here was pleasant."

I forced myself back, shaking my head very slightly. A white-hot glare at the man towering over all others.

"Oh, I'm having a wonderful time being escorted by Emobitch over there." I tossed a jerk of my head over at where I thought Ulquiorra was. I could swear I heard someone in the darkness snort from stifled laughter, but I couldn't be sure. Aizen frowned slightly, still leaning his chin on his fist.

"You seem very…aggressive."

I snarled.

"Fuck off, assho-"

My body was instantly pressed upon by immeasurable weight; it felt like, as I dropped like a cement block to the ground. Not even just on my knees either, where some semblance of pride could be held. No, I could barely hold myself on hands and knees, my head bowed. Aizen's voice had some small tone of disapproval, and a note of victory.

"Feel free to become acclimated, Inju Zetsumei, because you will be here for a very long time."

The tone was dismissive, as the weight let up and I gasped for breath. A cool hand gripped the back of my shirt and dragged me to my feet, where I staggered to gain my balance. Emobitch again. Dammit.

"That will be all, Ulquiorra. Escort our guest to her new living arrangements." Aizen ordered dismissively, and I felt Ulquiorra force me to bow with him and then drag me off.

"Hai, Aizen-sama."

The dragging continued until we were out of the room, where he instead let me go and continued to walk. I saw the opportunity; turned to run and ran face-first into the chest of somebody else who apparently had been waiting for us to come out again.

"…Watch where yer' going, ya little bitch." Ohshitohshitohshitohshit. Holy fucking shit, I fucking know that voice. I staggered back, nearly into Ulquiorra, and stared up at the bastard who nearly killed me on his raid.

"You fucking deaf? Answer me, dammit!" Grimmjow Jeagerjaques growled, and I noticed he had one arm. He had two last time. The blue haired bastard's glare traced from me to the figure behind me, and he snarled the name much as I did.

"Ulquiorra."

Said Emobitch spoke up after a moment from behind me, grabbing me by the collar of my school uniform again and dragging me away from the perceived threat.

"Grimmjow. A dismissed Espada that cannot even come into the meetings, and so is forced to stalk after the new guest. Pathetic."

I glared at Grimmjow, and then dragged myself from Ulquiorra's grip. He seemed slightly distracted with Grimmjow. Or maybe, I just wasn't enough of a threat to worry about keeping a hold of.

"Don't fucking touch me, emo asshole!" I growled, fixing my clothes. Grimmjow seemed similarly pissed off at Ulquiorra.

"Shut the fuck up, Schiffer. You too, bitch." He took a threatening step forward, towards ME, and Ulquiorra snatched my wrist and began to walk off like nothing at all had just happened.

"I do not have the time to listen to trash such as yourself." He stated icily, and I heard Grimmjow let out a loud, "FUCK!!" and I think he punched a wall. Couldn't tell, since I was currently being dragged like some unruly five year old. I tried to jerk away from the bastard but failed, and after an endless amount of walking through nameless white corridors all identical to one another, he opened a door as white and unassuming as everything else in this entire place.

"This will be your new living area for the rest of your time spent at Las Noches, as long as Aizen-sama deems you will be living here. A uniform is on the couch; you will change into it and it will be what you will wear for the rest of your time here. The clothes you are wearing will be disposed of. You will be fed three times a day; once at morning, once at noon, and once at dinner. You are also not to leave this room unless an Espada or a high-ranking member comes to take you wherever Aizen-sama decides to have you. You will follow all orders given by Aizen-sama; incompliance to him will be dealt with as he decides."

He stated in complete monotone, as he shoved me into the icy cold room. A white somewhat poofy couch sat against the left wall, a large window high above me. Nothing to climb up to it on, dammit, and bars were across it. The backwards moon glared through the small window, seemingly laughing at me and my situation.

"Your first feeding will be in one hour." Ulquiorra stated, and I heard the door slam behind me. After I heard his footsteps fade away into the distance, I hurried to the door and tried it. Only to find out that there was absolutely nothing for me to grab and attempt to open. Just a large rectangular doorway outline, and a thick white wall in my face. The material was icy cold against my flesh, and I pulled my hands away as if the wall had bit me.

"So that's it then." I stated simply, stepping back and falling on the couch heavily. The uniform next to me was picked up limply, held out in front of me. Cut low, it was a thinly strapped thing that went right above my breasts, showing off some cleavage (Aizen you perverted bastard) and my Zamiel tattoo. A small bit of fabric connected long sleeves ended in large and splayed bell shaped openings, just short enough where my fingertips would show through. The edge would, if I laid my hands flat, lay right past where my thumb connected and draw a line across my hands. The hakama weren't much better; they were very long and had the same bell-shaped opening at the feet, and I knew they would drag the ground in that way that annoys the shit out of me. Plus, they were low cut and probably hung down really slutty on my hips. Pure white, and lined with black here and there. I tsked.

"The fuck do they think I'll wear this shit? Fucking crazy hollows and Aizen and shit." I tossed the uniform back onto the couch, standing up again and ignoring the white panties and black tabi, geta included. Aizen was apparently the kind of guy that liked weird-ass Japanese clothes too, and had the time to get nice women's panties. I'll have to tell him he's as much of a creeper as Urahara.

I happened to see a room connecting to the one I was in, and went to check that out for possible escape routes. It was a very, very nice bathroom with a white (surprise) porcelain tub, a similar toilet, and white rugs and towels all ready for me. Cameras. There had to be cameras in here somewhere. SOMEWHERE. I looked around for a good ten minutes and didn't see anything obvious, but the cameras were probably small and so I gave up. Shampoo and conditioner. White. Surprise surprise.

The door opened in the main room with a call of, "I am coming in." Oh joy, Ulquiorra came back to keep me company. My life is complete.

"Where are you, woman." And joy, he does that fucking annoying 'Question that's not really a question' thing I hate.

"Who gives a fuck." I growled, stepping out of the bathroom and slouching against the wall. He glanced to the couch with the uniform I wasn't wearing setting on it.

"…Why are you not wearing your uniform."

I scowled, folding my arms.

"'Cause it's fucking ugly and it makes me look like a cheap slut." I growled. Ulquiorra Schiffer picked up an article of the uniform, looking to me.

"That is trifling; you are required to wear the uniform. Put it on." He saw me stare off away from him, and I think it clicked in his emo head that I was going to be extremely difficult.

"Put it on or I will dress you myself. Or perhaps Nnoitra will come in and do it for me." I didn't know who the fuck Nnoitra was, but his threat of doing it himself was expounded upon as he began to walk towards me. I swore, walking over and snatching the uniform from the couch and from his hands.

"FUCK, FINE!!!" I yelled, exasperated, and walked into the bathroom. I was right; it was just as slutty as I had thought. Hugged my chest and highlighted the curves; those bastards. Making me wear something so slutty.

I stepped out, wearing everything. Down to the white panties too, probably Aizen's kink. The color white, most likely. Ulquiorra gave no notice of me changing, only signaled something to be carried in. A cart of food, plain bread, water, and rice. Guess Las Noches doesn't splurge on it's 'guests'.

"You will eat." Ulquiorra ordered, and I was difficult yet again. Aizen dragged me here, and he's going to deal with my moodiness goddammit.

"Not hungry." I growled, arms crossed slightly over my stomach. I swear the slightest bit of annoyance was in his eyes for the shortest moment, but it was gone in a flash.

"Eat, or I will force it down your throat." He threatened in monotone, and I crossed my arms tighter and ignored him. He casually picked the bread and broke half of it off, soaked it in the water for a moment and began to walk forward in a purposeful stride towards me. I stalked backwards, getting ready to fight him off even if he could probably kill me by blinking. If he ever did that at all.

My back hit the wall and he was upon me in a moment, gripping me around the neck and shoving me against the wall to keep me from moving. I tried to knee him in the nuts; see him be emo through that. But he dodged, hooked fingers behind my jaws and forced my mouth open to shove the bread in, before letting go of the bread and instead using that hand to press over my mouth and hold my nose shut. The other hand caught my fists and slammed them to the wall too, leaving me to either swallow or suffocate. I tried not to eat it, I really tried. Just to spite this guy. I briefly wondered that if he inadvertently killed me, would Aizen kick his emo ass? Tempting, but I didn't want to die here. I swallowed the cold and soggy mess, he letting go and reaching back for the other piece. This half was eaten more cooperatively, and he finally let me go to stagger backwards and fall on the couch, right on my ass. I wiped my mouth on the sleeve of my new uniform, purposefully getting it dirty just to spite Las Noches and it's slutty white uniforms. Ulquiorra turned, walking out of the room after brushing his paper white hands onto my couch, to get the crumbs off.

"I will return at the next feeding time. I suggest you be slightly more cooperative at that time." He stated, right about the time his white tailcoat ends fluttered out of my door. I watched the door slam shut again, and leave me to my icy solitary confinement.

"FUCK!!" I yelled, hauling back and kicking my couch full-force. It didn't move, and now my foot hurt. Dammit.

"Fucking Ulquiorra, pissing emo whore!! Fucking Aizen, dragging me to his shit castle in the middle of a fucking desert and fucking looking all high and mighty down on me!! Fucking Grimmjow, all pissy and shit!! Fucking…FUCK!!" I roared, a barrage of kicks and hits and punches on the walls and the poor, poor couch. Ulquiorra had stolen my uniform on his way out, I vaguely noticed as I kicked the couch again. I probably kept half of Las Noches occupied with listening to my little tirade, but I didn't give a shit what they had to listen to. What felt like hours after I began, I collapsed heavily on the undamaged couch and closed my eyes. I was tired from hitting anything in the immediate vicinity, and as I rolled onto my back, I began to ponder my friends….friend…back in Karakura. They probably either thought of me as a runaway risk. Probably nearly all of them were looking around for me to shut up the loose end.

I sighed, laying my arm halfway over my eyes. One amber eye peeked out, staring at the endless white ceiling. It hurt my eyes, and so I turned to stare at the wall. White. Now I looked at the couch. Fuck, that's white too. Floor. White, shit. Everything's white.

I finally turned my eyes to the only bit of non-white in the entire environment; the sky out of my barred windows. Black and a…white moon, goddammit. But I can ignore the off-kilter moon, if only to stare into the sweet, sweet black. My eyes were closing very slowly, and I murmured one last message before falling into even sweeter, more complete blackness.

"…Orihime…I sure hope you're having a better day then I am…"

**((AN: Well, induction to Las Noches and a force feeding. Like I said, Inju's just going to make SO many friends here. Reviews appreciated, though I'm most likely not getting any more than the ones from the lovely weaseldale and I'llxBexUrxEnigma2010. Next chapter either tonight if it's a shortie or tomorrow if I get all descriptive. Toodles!))**


	12. Butch, Bitch, Emowhore and PMITABHD

**((AN: First attempt at starting a relationship. The love, it is everywhere. Thanks to the reviewers again, it's what keeps me from getting discouraged and stopping the daily updating thing. But then again, I'm just real bored in the daytime and do nothing but write.**

**ALSO!! Remember, this is rated M for a reason. Later on lemony freshness, but for this chapter it's straight out language.))**

I don't know how long it was that I slept, but I know that when I woke up it wasn't of my own volition. Somebody was opening my door, and I didn't hear Ulquiorra announce his presence. That meant this wasn't Ulquiorra, and from how quiet they were trying and failing to be, they were doing something shifty. It was more than one person, I could tell, because of the different sets of footsteps being so close to each other and the occasional whisper to shut the hell up. I curled my legs close to me in the cushions, tightening my muscles and preparing to lunge off the couch and kick some ass (or attempt it). As I thought, the two intruders shut the door behind them and started coming in my direction not-too-quietly.

"Hurry up, she's going to wake up if you don't!" I heard a fervent whisper at my back, a confirming mumble behind the female voice. Two women, it sounded like. As soon as feather touches connected with the back of my neck I kicked out, connecting with somebody to a yelp of surprise and then propelling off of her onto the floor, twisting around to stare at the intruders. Two women, a black haired in pigtails and with remnants of a mask around her left eye and a blond one with a butch haircut and an identical remnant of a mask around her right eye. It seems I kicked pigtails, because she looks extra pissed.

"What the hell was that, you little bitch?!" Pigtails spat. Butch seemed to kind of hang back; maybe Pigtails was a bitch to her too.

"What the fuck are you doing in my damn room touching me, you fuckin' creeper?!" I roared, taking her tone and heightening it for my own uses. Pigtail's uniform was as slutty as mine, it seemed.

"Tch, I don't need to answer to you!" Pigtails, who shall now be known as Bitch, shouted at me. I snarled, balling up fists in my long sleeves as she started walking towards me.

"I'd fuckin' start thinking about it." I spat with a nonchalant look on my face, as if I didn't care. Really, I didn't. Bitches who talked a lot of shit usually didn't have much to back it up with. Then again, I was in Las Noches and surrounded by Arrancar. Fuck it; right now I was going through a nicotine withdrawal from not smoking/chewing recently. That meant that right now and for the next day or three, I was going to be hell on Earth to be around. Or hell on Hueco Mundo. Wherever the fuck I was right now. Didn't matter; Bitch was rearing back to slap the dog shit out of me, I could tell. You get to recognize these things when you do nothing but fight for a good portion of your life. I waited for the last moment before jerking my head back; the swing was a helluva lot faster than I anticipated, but it was a clean miss and I was already gathering reiatsu in my fist for a good punch. Hopefully this bitch wasn't as tough as Grimmjow, and I'd be able to land a solid hit.

I of course hit clean air, as she saw the hit coming as well and took the opportunity to duck and kick me straight in the stomach. I grunted, before noting that Butch was gone. Hands closed around my wrists, dragging them to my back and jerking them up at the wrists to pin them against my shoulder blades tightly, before another arm circled around my neck and held me against her to where I couldn't escape. Bitch took the opportunity to grin at Butch behind me and then go all-out on my trapped self. The one-sided beatdown lasted for God knows how long; all I know for sure was that in the end I came out with a bloody nose, a split lip and a collection of what would become lovely new bruises on my torso. Bitch just let out all the insults she could think of, and I urged her on with a similar treatment.

"You bitch, I'll fucking kill you!" She spat, swinging and catching me across the face in a vicious slap. I grinned at her, spitting in her direction.

"You have some fun trying that shit, fucking whore. I bet you suck Aizen off every night, don't you? Real slut like you probably sucks everyone's dick, don't you?" I commented cockily, ignoring the fact that for the moment I was at her mercy. Never one to be real intelligent in fighting situations. She got even more pissed than before, before catching me in the mouth with her elbow. I tasted blood; the cracked tooth broke completely, leaving a jagged one in back. Probably cut the shit out of my mouth until the edges dulled over time. Yeah, I got some experience with broken teeth.

"You shut your damn mouth, you slut!!" Bitch yelled, and I saw that she was getting ready to do something drastic with her sword. Probably slice off a finger or something. Thinking as fast as I could with what felt like a concussion, I came to the obvious choice that I should have thought of ten or so minutes ago.

I bowed my head, as if I had given up and before anyone could react, threw it back and slammed it into the face of Butch. Her grip loosened, and I slid out of her arms to throw a surprise punch at Bitch. It connected, and I caught her on the right side of her snarling little face with as much reiatsu as I could muster. Her face was like fucking steel. She staggered back, before Butch recovered and snatched me by my short hair and dragged me back as Bitch lunged. I tore out of her grip, easy enough with short hair, that's the reason I cut it short in the first place. Actually, it used to be long, growing since I was a baby. Mom always liked it long, she said it was pretty. That's before I got into Rotting Dog and we started to hate each other. Anyway, I cut it right in the middle of a gang fight too; some big shit between Rotting Dog and some no-name little pussy clubhouse that thought to encroach on our territory. Well, the pussy clubhouse had some pretty good equipment for when we met up and started shit that turned into a bigass fight. Bastard grabbed me by the long hair and tried to keep me in place so another guy could carve out my kidneys. I whipped out a knife and sliced my long hair off, which is why the cut is ragged. We won the fight, the pussy clubhouse got chased off and we won some of their shit. The two guys I was fighting were in the hospital, once I got free and got some backup. Mom freaked right the fuck out when she saw it that night when I staggered in, all cut up and my clothes torn. We got in a huge fight that night, words were exchanged and she slapped me across the face. I tore out of there and crashed at a good buddy's place for the next couple of nights, until Mom called and threatened to report me a runaway. When I showed back up that night, we didn't talk all that night or the entire week. It all died between us forever ago.

I tore out of Butch's grip and got a hold of one of Bitch's pigtails, laying a good kick in her stomach before she grabbed me by the very top of my head and slammed the side of my head into the wall. I pinged off the cold material and my vision flickered; Bitch slammed my temple into the wall and my knees failed my ass as I dropped like concrete to the floor. Bitch was about to stab me or something before she and Butch froze, looked at each other, and practically ran to the door.

"We're not fucking finished, slut!" Bitch called back to me with a snarl before she and Butch ran out of the room, the door slamming behind them and leaving me alone in the cold bleached floor. I was vaguely aware that blood was running from my mouth onto the floor, but right now I was just concerned with getting back on my feet. I groaned, working my way to hands and knees with my head lying on my left arm, forehead pressed against my forearm. I spat out the broken tooth onto the floor, breathing heavily and trying to get my bearings. I heard footsteps off in the distance getting louder, and assumed it would either be Bitch and Butch or Ulquiorra, who would make some sort of emo comment and then throw food at me again, which I know for sure I couldn't keep down right now. Never could eat after a fight, it wouldn't stay down.

The door opened and I didn't happen to look up at whoever it was, only moved my head from my forearm and spat red onto the white floor. It was a welcomed color. Maybe I should bleed on the walls and floor more often.

"You gonna lay around like a sack a' shit all day?" A rough, all-too-familiar voice growled from the now opened doorway. Did everyone I hate happen to decide on visiting today?

"…Fuck you, maybe I will." I snarled, moving onto my feet and standing to lean against the wall and stare darkly at Grimmjow Jeagerjaques. He didn't seem too pissed off right now, just took in that I'd had my ass kicked.

"Somebody fucked you up." He stated indifferently. I gave him a deadpan stare from my position on the wall.

"…You just notice that?" I deadpanned, as if he were a moron or something. Instead of getting the reaction I'd have liked, a pissed off one, he stalked into my room and shut the door behind him with an annoyed stare. Now I was wary; he may be one-armed, but the bastard was obviously still tough enough to chase off Bitch and Butch, and probably kill me by breathing the right way. He strutted towards me and I pushed off the wall, having most of my balance back by now. Only when Grimmjow was in front of me did I realize how much taller he was than me; I came up to right under his shoulders, sternum level. Might be hopelessly outclassed in Las Noches but that didn't mean I was gonna be anybody's fucking doormat. Plus, there was that nicotine thing making me a total bitch right about now. He was staring down at me, doing God-knows-what. You know, that bastard wasn't being all too supportive right about now. Thought he was supposed to be real goddamn kind or something; why the hell was all this shit happening to me when there were HUNDREDS of other people's mothers he could have had ship them off to Karakura.

"…What the hell are you lookin' at." I growled at Grimmjow, preparing to fight and lose fantastically if I needed to. Out of fucking nowhere, he lays a solid kick right where Bitch got me and sends me back into the wall. I spat, and against my almost nonexistent better judgment try and punch him in the head, the opposite side of his jaw mask. Before I could track it, he caught it with his one hand. One hand, that meant that he couldn't grab the other one. I swung and he dodged easy, letting go of my hand and slamming me to the wall by my throat.

"Yer' real mouthy, you know that?" He growled, gripping tightly and starting to cut off my oxygen. Despite what intelligence would tell you, I had to be a moron and snarl at him.

"I'm pretty fucking aware." I spat, and for a moment I thought Grimmjow was going to fucking kill me now. Wouldn't take much; all he had to do was twist his wrist and my neck would snap like a twig. Then, he'd probably eat my soul or something and I'd turn into a hollow and have to join Aizen's army and do this shit for a living. We glared each other down for a while longer, I had apparently pissed him off at some point in time during our little 'conversation'.

He let go of my throat and instead grabbed my lower jaw, dragging my head up to look right into his face. My heart raced; this guy could kill me at any moment in time he felt the whim, and right about now I was in the most vulnerable of positions. His breath was on my face and I could feel it as he spoke in a low tone.

"You remember who you're fuckin' talking to." He growled in my face, before letting me go and watching me jerk back, wide-eyed. I was about to speak when the door opened again with a call of "I am coming in." Oh great; Ulquiorra was coming. Grimmjow seemed to be the same kind of enthused I was, as he turned around and started walking towards the door and Ulquiorra. Grand Emobitch himself took in my beaten appearance and Grimmjow's being there and fit them together in the most logical of ways.

"Grimmjow, do not beat the guest. I will have to report this to Aizen-sa-" He began, and Grimmjow pushed past him rudely.

"Fuck off, like I give a shit about Aizen. Didn't do it anyway." He stated, and Ulquiorra had to interject on that one.

"A disgraced former Espada should watch his words." Grimmjow stopped, before growling something about 'Fucking Ulquiorra' and stalking off. Nice Ulquiorra, thanks for being so caring about my well-being. Other than the fact that as soon as Grimmjow left, he ignored my being injured at all. Bastard. I staggered over and dropped on the couch, listening to the dull drone of Ulquiorra as he moved in the food cart.

"Woman, it is time for your next feeding."

I stared up at him, from my spot on my back as I lied on the couch. He stared a moment longer.

"Will you eat willingly this time, or will I have to feed you by hand once again?" I knew he was completely serious, and he didn't even have to speak again before I was on my feet, dragging myself over to go have a tasteless…whatever.

Damn, this sure sucks.

**((AN: Yep, Menoly and Loly kicked Inju's ass, didn't they? I wrote this chapter listening to way WAY too much Mindless Self Indulgence, hence everyone except Ulquiorra swearing at least once a sentence. Starts of the romance, and my cat is currently being adorable on a large pink and white stuffed dog, if anyone else wanted to know. New chapter tomorrow, after a clothes shopping run. Toodles!!))**


	13. Dances With Espada Mouth Rape Edition

**((AN: Cat is still adorable. Why I continue writing at four in the morning, I shall never know. At least you guys get something out of it. Anywaysies, more Las Noches joy for Inju. Yayez.))**

How fucking long has it been since I got dragged here by Ulquiorra Schiffer? How fucking long have I been sitting in this white room? It feels like months. Years, even. Day after day, I hang out in this room and find various things to not do. Things like swear my allegiance to Aizen or just let Bitch and Butch (I found out their names, Menoly and Loly, but Bitch and Butch are much catchier) kill me. Ulquiorra comes by three times a day to do feeding time, as he calls it. I'm pretty cooperative on eating nowadays. Ulquiorra and I, we don't even talk anymore. He has the cart rolled in, he stands in the corner while I eat my bread and drink my water, and then he has the cart rolled out and leaves. Bitch and Butch have showed up a grand total of five times since the first ass kicking, and I'm getting better. Butch doesn't dare grab me anymore and try to hold me, and Bitch is a lot quicker when I start moving. I've socked her in the good eye before, and I've got more reiatsu I can add to my hits. She's watching her ass nowadays when we spar. It's one of the only things I have to keep me occupied nowadays, and even that is getting dull now.

At that moment, I was lazing on my couch and staring at the white ceiling. I was so much accustomed to white, the other colors didn't even matter to me anymore. All I ever saw was the white of everything, and the black of mine and Bitch's hair. Even my eyes had lost the amber glow, now a dull brownish color. Did I give up? Hell no; I just became accustomed to boredom. Kind of like a stasis thing; I was merely gonna be lazy and lethargic until I needed to be spry and kickass again. The way things were going, I'd never be energetic again it felt like.

The door opened. Odd, Bitch and Butch had just visited yesterday…think it was yesterday…and they always put at least three of my days in between their visits so as not to alert Ulquiorra or Aizen. Not that they probably didn't know; as long as they didn't see and I didn't die, then it was fine with them. Bastards. Ulquiorra usually wouldn't visit for another three or so of my hours, because it felt like feeding time had just happened. I know it was because I wasn't hungry at all.

"…Oh…Ulquiorra." I stated in monotone, as said Cuatra stepped in with no cart behind him. I'd learned his rank awhile back when Bitch and Butch started yelling at each other about the Cuatra Schiffer coming and finding them if they didn't leave soon.

"Woman, you are called upon by Aizen-sama." I blinked; since when was I needed for dog shit? Rolling onto my feet and cracking my neck, I messed with the sleeves of my uniform and pulled the top up before slinking after Ulquiorra. He didn't bother dragging me anymore; I'd long since learned that escape was near impossible. Instead I followed like a good little captive, nonchalantly staring around at the numeros' glares. They didn't like the human that invaded their world, even if Aizen had ordered it. Fuck them. They could come kill me if they wanted to; give me something to fucking do around here.

We walked in a new room I hadn't been in before, and I immediately realized how deep of shit I was in.

"Zetsumei-san, welcome." Aizen spoke calmly from the head of the huge table. The sides were lined with Arrancar I knew to be the Espada, from what I had heard about the near-mythical Aizen Teatime table for only the ex-shinigami and the fabled Espada to attend. Among them were a stupid Espada that was somehow the Decimo Espada, Yammy. Yammy something…I still didn't know his last name. Tales of his bitch status with Ulquiorra were even heard in my cell.

Then there was some weird helmeted Espada I hadn't heard of. He had a huge head, if that was what was under there.

Then there was the pink-haired one I knew was Szayel Apollo Grantz. He was supposed to be a real psycho; some sick bastard mad scientist. Didn't look all that threatening right now, with his flamingly gay pink hair and the feminine way I could see that he crossed his legs under the table.

Next was the very peaceful black man I knew would be Zommari, a supposed sage or something. He apparently wasn't that important, because people didn't talk about him that much.

Instead of Grimmjow, who I heard had been disgraced and lost his position as Sexta, sat a lithe man I heard to be Luppi. He looked like a gay little kid, but then again, Yammy WAS the Decimo Espada. Anything could happen. Chin was set on folded hands with sleeves much like mine, except his were so long that they covered his hands completely. He looked bored.

Then there was an extremely tall and creeper man I knew to be Nnoitra Jiruga, molester of women and children everywhere. The Arrancar spoke about him raping one of their acquaintance's acquaintances, or something like that. And now that I could feel his reiatsu, I could remember a time where this reiatsu got really close and hung around my room before Ulquiorra showed up for feeding time and he kind of left. Great, he knew where my room was. He stared me up and down, I could tell. Fucking slutty unifoms.

Ulquiorra abandoned me at the far end of all the killing machines to sit at his spot as Cuatra. I knew enough about Ulquiorra to deduce that he was an emo asshole that considered everyone below him as 'trash'. I had indeed been called trash a couple times, when I was first here and largely uncooperative for the sake of making Ulquiorra Schiffer's life as much a living Hell as possible.

Then there was a dark-skinned, blond woman wearing a uniform showing off a lot of cleavage and with a collar covering her mouth and nose. Halibel, probably. The Tercera. She was supposed to be real quiet and didn't start fights like some of the other Espada.

After Halibel, there was an old man who immediately reminded me of a starfish for no particular reason. Barragan, the one that thought of himself as a king. Wonder Aizen hadn't nuked him yet, from what I'd heard of his kingly self-status.

And the very first? A brunette guy dozing on his hands. Stark. The Segunda Espada was a lazy ass who apparently seemed to want to do nothing but sleep his days away. Why he was in a high-demand position like the First Espada, a mystery.

Aizen sat at the head of the table, with two men standing slightly behind him. One a creepily smiling foxlike man that I would probably guess was Gin Ichimaru, the ex-Captain of third division. On the other side, was the black man that had to be Kaname Tousen. Apparently he was a kindly, peaceful and highly delusional man that thought he was doing justice. 'Kay then.

And right about now, all thirteen killing machines were staring at the blank looking human standing in their midst.

"…Uh, yeah. Hey." I kind of blurted out nervously, staring at them all staring at me. How uncomfortable was I? Highly uncomfortable. About as uncomfortable as possible. Aizen didn't seem perturbed by my lack of respect and lack of saying 'Aizen-sama'. He should be damn used to it by now.

"…Who's the bitch? This the human we heard about?" Nnoitra leaned back in his chair rudely, half yelling the question out. Aizen took it very calmly, taking a sip of his tea. I'd heard about Aizen's big tea fetish. Probably almost as strong as his fetish for the color white.

"…Yes, Nnoitra. This is the human brought from Karakura town." He answered calmly.

"She doesn't look very prospective for a human. Not even interesting enough for a dissection." Grantz cut in, observing me with a stare. I sent him a glare and immediately looked away at the sight of his bright golden eyes. They freaked me out.

"That is what this meeting was called for. Zetsumei-san, why don't you show your reiatsu powers to the Espada? For observation powers." His voice was calm, pleasant even. But I knew better of his true nature, and it was solidified as a Numero was brought in and shoved in front of me. Something was probably wrong with the guy. I was supposed to decimate the meek-looking little Numero?

"…Whatever." I stated, gathering reiatsu in my left fist. As high as I thought the threshold for not blowing myself up would be, before I slammed it into the side of his head. Gore exploded across my figure and uniform; I would need a new one. Killing wasn't that big a deal for me, not anymore at least. Maybe I would have refused back when I first came from Karakura, but I was vaguely aware that being in a kingdom of things that acted just like me was making me less inhibited. Soon enough, I might as well be a hollow myself. Wouldn't that be weird for the Karakura gang to see me like; Inju Zetsumei the hollow. An Arrancar, probably. One of the bitches Aizen had running his errands and sucking his dick. Feh, I'd heard going from alive to dead tended to erase the memory anyway, so I wouldn't even remember being Inju Zetsumei. Probably going to be the same with me.

"…Well, lookit tha'." I heard a thick and annoying accent state from behind Aizen, as the Numero I killed began to disintegrate. Slowly, but eventually all the little bits of his body detached and seemed to join Las Noches. My fist was sticky, and I nonchalantly wiped it on my white uniform. Getting a new one anyway, Aizen wouldn't even let blood color my uniform. Of course not. That would be color, and color that was not white. Couldn't have that.

"What? What's so fucking amazing about the bitch blowing up a Numero? We could've done it five times better." Damn you Nnoitra. Aizen waited until he was done to speak, when Szayel spoke for him.

" If you did not notice, the Numero's soul completely disintegrated." He stated sharply, and Aizen nodded slightly as the Espada started to stare at me. This was all news to me, and I vaguely noted that the Numero was my first ever kill using my spiritual powers. Aizen began to smile at me, waving me away so he could talk about evil things to use me for with his cronies.  
"That will be all, Zetsumei-san. Ulquiorra, please escort her back." Ulquiorra, who had maybe five minutes of rest, now stood and bowed to Aizen before heading past me and out the door, me tagging along after him after kind of waving to the Espada.

"See ya…I guess." Like hell I was going to be respectful to my captors. I slunk after Ulquiorra once again, now trying to get blood off of my face with my sleeve. It was useless, my sleeves were stained too, along with my entire front. Kid had popped like a water balloon and drenched me. Some part of me screamed that I should be more disgusted with myself about taking a life and now nonchalantly worried more about getting blood off of my face than what I had just done. Where was the code I used to have? Not to kill the innocents, not the ones that didn't try to kill me first? Not to just let myself be…controlled like this? For fuck's sake, he said kill and I went ''Kay then.' That part of me, the small bit that wasn't yet warped by Las Noches, wanted me to remember how it was back before now when I was so much like them. Like the hollows. It wanted me to remember the awesome tuna slumber party of ice cream with Orihime and Matsumoto. It wanted me to remember fighting back-to-back with Kurosaki and Chad against the punks. It wanted me to remember training with Yoruichi and trying to avoid speaking with creeper Urahara, and avoid getting inadvertently killed by Jinta before Tessai could save me.

It wanted me to remember sitting next to Orihime at the river and watching the red dragonflies.

"We have arrived. A new uniform will be sent for." Ulquiorra's monotone cut through my reverie like a thin veil and I nodded while walking in the cold yet somehow welcoming normality of my room. The door slammed behind me and I collapsed on the white couch, probably smearing Numero blood on the furniture. I didn't care. Probably need a shower soon; that bathroom was oft used but rarely actually needed anymore. Usually all I did was sit around and eat, no reason to shower because I was getting dirty. Maybe when Bitch and Butch kicked my ass and made me bleed, but nothing other than that. I bathed for something to do, really.

Blood was getting dry and now sticky on my face, neck and the exposed part of my chest from Aizen's whorish taste in female 'guest' uniforms. I wanted Ulquiorra to hurry his pasty white ass up so I could go ahead and shower; I needed clean clothes to change into. Right about then, the door began to open and I rolled over, expecting to grab a clean uniform from a nameless Numero and go attend to fretting over how fucking hard it was gonna be to get the blood out of my hair.

It wasn't Ulquiorra who came through the door.

"…The hell you doing here, Jeagerjaques?" I queried nonchalantly at the former Sexta standing in my doorway. Shit; he looked pissed for some reason. The door slammed behind him and he stalked forward dangerously, towards me. I stood and backed up, trying to put distance between us. Why the fuck was he so pissed off looking?

"The fuck I tell you 'bout watching what you fucking say to me?" He sped up and I sped up as well, and from the look in his eyes I could tell he was wanting to kill me. He must be in a real pissy mood for some reason; somebody (Probably that Luppi; I'd heard he had an awfully dangerous habit of waving his title as Sexta in Grimmjow's face nowadays) had probably called him out, somebody he couldn't cero through the face.

"Hear you like being a good little prisoner for Aizen nowadays." Hey, there was the reason he apparently found valid enough to come kill me. I groaned, rolling my eyes. Las Noches had made me less careful of what I said and did in front of who, since the only people who came in my room wouldn't kill me.

"That the only reason you have? I was in a fucking Aizen Tea Party. Like I'm dipshit enough to tell Aizen to fuck off when I'm standing in front of a table full of Espada."

My arrogance and self-assuredness caused me to fuck up royally by not shutting the fuck up right about there.

"Not like you'd know the experience, _Former_ Sexta."

His eyes flashed and in an instant, I had a hand around my throat in a crushing grip and my back slammed painfully against the perpetually cold wall. I wasn't even touching the ground anymore; Grimmjow lifted me around a foot off the floor where our heights were around even. I choked and he got right in my face to speak very, very softly. Oh hell, was he pissed now.

"You have a fucking death wish, you little bastard?" Grimmjow growled in my face. He said the exact words and my temper flared again, propelling me to find the air to dig myself a deeper grave. Who needs six feet? We can have twelve!!

"Fuck you, Jeagerjaques!! I ain't no goddamn whore and I'm not takin' no shit from a one-armed gimp who thinks he's the fucking shit when his damn job got pulled out from under him by a gay ass little bitch with an age problem and a fucking retarded uniform! I don't fucking care _who_ you think you are; you're shit here, nowadays, and Ulquiorra probably smiles for half a second every night right before when and if he sleeps, maybe MAYBE even giggles for a brief moment in time at your pathetic ass running around playing make-believe badass in a castle that's all laughing at his fucking ass! FUCK YOU, JEAGERJAQUES!!" I finished with my tirade with a shout, glaring as hard as fucking possible at the bastard now staring somewhat confusedly at me. I hated being called a whore.

____

Mom always called me a whore when she was as pissed off as humanely possible at me. She'd tell me about how I was a little bastard child because my 'deadbeat, no-good make-believe Mafia member father decided to get gunned down in an alley', and she'd try and hit me. And that was the first time I ever remember being so completely pissed that I hit her back. Wasn't too long after that I got shot and she stated 'Like father like daughter' and I slapped the dog shit out of her. She pinged my head off of a wall and threw me out into the rain. No warm bed in an upscale Kyoto apartment tonight, Inju. I crashed in a gutter. When we eventually came back to living together, she didn't mention it again other than the occasional snappy remark about how it should have got me in the head instead of just the leg. I was content with that; she didn't mention Dad too often and I didn't either. It was a taboo topic in the family, and the word 'bastard' was always the one to send me flying off the handle. Technically, no, I wasn't a bastard. It was around ten when he died, a vendetta against his Family by another. Un-fucking-solved. The cops knew what he was in, and they brushed it under the rug. Me and Dad were real close; I was a real daddy's girl back then. Real cute, the perfect little girl. Kind that said 'Please' and 'Thank you' and curtsied. Mom used to be nice back then. We were kind of in a tough spot, Dad being a Mafioso and all, but we were happy. I'm not completely Japanese, I'll have to say, even though I've never left the country. Mom was American, real pretty. Blond hair, blue eyes, cream colored skin. No wonder Dad went after her when she came on vacation to Okinawa, from what I heard. He was apparently a grunt back then, running around doing various errands there. They met, fell for each other, you know what happened. She decided to stay in Japan and move to Kyoto with him. I personally look nothing like my mother, except skin tone and if I were to smile more often and scowl less, we kind of looked alike then. I got my hair and eyes from Dad, which I'm glad about. We were kind of a dangerous family, but we were happy.

Until that one day.

We got the phone call that something had happened. Mom wouldn't tell me what they said on the phone, but she hurried off and left me with a babysitter. She came back crying, and told me daddy had been hurt. He wasn't coming back. I cried so hard when I understood.

You know, that was when I remember realizing that the good people didn't live too long. Dad was good, he was real nice. Didn't kill kids or women, just men that he needed to. And one of the women he was letting go had lured him into an alleyway where another Family's car trapped him and they gunned him down. If he'd have killed the bitch and not been so…so fucking _nice_, he'd still be here, maybe. I changed after that. It was around nine when he died. Ten was when I started swearing. Eleven was when I started acting out and causing trouble. Twelve, me and Mom started really getting into our screaming matches. Thirteen, I started getting into fights. Fourteen…fourteen was when I got into Rotting Dog. Young, but I was pretty damn rough by then. By my sixteenth birthday, my hair was sliced off and I was starting to move from Rotting Dog and straight fighting….I was starting to get into the Mafia. That's probably why mom sent me off; she knew about what happened to the people in the Mafia. And with my temper, I'd get gunned down in a minute. She shipped me off to Karakura so I wouldn't get killed, I guess. Nice going Mom; now I'm pinned against a wall with a fucking psychopath at my throat, and I just cussed the shit out of him because of your habit to call me a bastard. Nice.

____

He kept staring at me, and it was pissing my already riled up self off even more.

"The fuck you lookin' at, FORMER Espa-"

Grimmjow cut me off sharply in an unexpected way, jerking my head upwards enough so that he could slam his lips down on mine. I freaked at the random way to shut me up; gasped, and he took the opportunity to shove his way into my mouth and take to hunting everywhere. I knew that I wasn't going to be getting away, since he was still and probably always would be hundreds of times more powerful than I was. I tried to push him off of me and found that even when I shoved as hard as I could on his chest, he didn't even budge.

Although right about then, escape was quickly fading from my mind.

It went from me trying to shove him to grabbing the side of his open jacket tight, the other hand grabbing at his short blue hair and gripping tight. I tasted blood; bastard probably bit me or something. Not that I wasn't already cut up from his damn mask piece dragging across the side of my face on occasion. The both of us wouldn't let up on dominance, both tongues battling each other roughly. I got in his mouth a couple times for a brief moment or two; he tasted like blood. Or maybe that was me, I couldn't tell. I couldn't help but groan, and pull him closer. Grimmjow shoved me further against the wall, pressing against my front, one hand already starting to wander. He grabbed at my chest roughly; I pseudo-yelped, in return jerking at his hair hard. Damn Aizen and his slutty uniforms. I moved a leg to wrap around his waist, and it was all so fucking perfect until he all of a sudden broke the kiss...well, it was less a kiss and more consensual mouth rape, but anyway he pulled back with a sort of soft popping noise and growled, looking towards the door. I could feel it as well; Ulquiorra was starting to come back. Grimmjow tossed a glance down to me in my glaring, flushed and heavily breathing state before untangling himself from me and nonchalantly walking to the door, as if it hadn't happened at all. At the door, he glanced over his shoulder.

"Ya oughta learn to shut the fuck up when I tell you to."

And with that, he slipped out the door as casually as possible and shut it, to leave me alone in the icy white prison I had learned to somewhat take comfort in. I growled, pushing off the wall and throwing myself on the couch with a heavy thud. What the FUCK was that about, anyway?

"...FUCK. Bastard had to confuse the shit outta me."

I growled, and sighed as the door opened again to show Ulquiorra with the new uniform. He had probably felt another reiatsu in my room and decided to come chase them off himself. I saw him glance around the room and at my state, which was calmer and only slightly flushed. He didn't say anything about it, only laid the uniform on the arm of the couch, ordered me to get cleaned up and change and then he left just as quietly as he had come.

"...Dammit." I sighed, grabbing the clean white uniform and stalking into the bathroom for a shower. I still had no idea what Grimmjow had seen, if he had seen anything in me at all, and halfway in there I realized I was bleeding from my bottom lip. So that was what Ulquiorra stared at me for a split second for. As I stripped down and got in the icy cold shower, I leaned against the cold wall of the shower itself and sighed as my black hair hung wet in my face. The water was turning pink from the Numero blood on my face and neck, and the bleeding scratches on the right side of my face from Grimmjow's mask.

"Heh...I wonder how Orihime's day went."

**((AN: Yep, Aizen did have a valid reason to kidnap Inju other than for fanfic purposes by the author. Me. Anyway, things are speeding up and we're getting back to the timeline soon enough. Next chapter out tonight, probably. Toodles!))**


	14. The Last Bit Of Innocence In Her World

**((Warning: THERE BE SOME BOMB-DIGGITY BOW CHICKA WAH WOW IN DIS SHINDIG. Sorry, I just wanted to do that. Seriously though: there's lemon filling in this one, along with Grimmjow's foulmouth sex talk. Yay lemon!))**

I lazed on the couch, and for the past three of my days had been doing a mixture of being pissed at Grimmjow, being pissed at myself for the reaction I was less than proud of and wondering what the fuck it was about. Confusion doesn't suit me at all. Wonder how many days I've been here now. I counted days now by pairing up Ulquiorra feeding times in threes; he came three times a day, so that must mean that three was a day. Grimmjow hadn't come since I cussed him out and he pulled that sneaky shit to shut me up. Couldn't say if I was glad he wasn't here or not.

"…Fuckin' bored." I groaned, now drawing little pictures on the floor with the tip of my finger. I wasn't being difficult anymore; in fact, ya might say that I was a pretty good prisoner considering my background. I just knew that Aizen could have me killed whenever he felt like it, and that didn't sound all too good actually. I don't feel like being eaten alive, not quite yet. I might however reconsider if NOTHIN' FUCKING INTERESTING HAPPENS.

I sighed, and the door opened for a new figure to approach. I scowled slightly; it was Luppi. Didn't like the effeminate twelve year old with pink star tattoos and his 'six' tattoo on his hip all slutty. He was haughty, and liked to confirm to everyone how much he thought he was better than everyone else.

"Nee-chan, Aizen-sama's callin' you to a meeting." He called me 'sister'. I hated it, and the little fucker knew it. Growling, I stood and walked over to him.

"Don't call me nee-chan. Let's fucking go already." I growled. His sleeves were like mine, and instantly he grabbed my wrist in a near crushing grasp and began dragging me along. I snarled, but didn't say anything as he had that crushing grasp on me. One cero and I'd be missing the top half of my body. **((AN: Lol foreshadowing))**

We arrived in the Espada seating section and instead of letting me waltz down to my little dance area for Aizen, he instead kept dragging me along and into the seating area. I had to sit on the floor of course, and I grew dangerously close to Nnoitra as the time passed. I think he did that on purpose, and so I moved to sit next to someone who probably wouldn't bother killing me. Stark didn't seem to mind me on my knees by him, watching the entire event play out in front of me. I heard the Espada quiet as Ulquiorra stepped in, leading a figure I'd never forget.

"Orihime…" I breathed in shock, as Orihime Inoue was lead to stand in front of Aizen. The one person I'd thought about the absolute most all this time was now exactly where I had left to keep her from; being in this land of death and blood. Aizen spoke to her as falsely kind as he had spoken to me, and I went to call out to her.

"Ori-"

Was all I got out, before Aizen's reiatsu crushed me down to the floor once again. I was left speechless and a moment later, the crushing warning released me and I sat up again, breathing heavily. Orihime still didn't know I was here.

You know, that day was probably one of the most pivotal I can remember.

I heard Aizen speak again, this time gesturing to a figure I couldn't yet see.  
"Inoue-san, please, heal Grimmjow's arm."

I blinked, Orihime and Grimmjow seemed confused and Luppi began to loudly announce how that was impossible.

"Tousen burned his arm; it's never coming back!" He proclaimed, as Grimmjow stepped forward and watched Orhime as carefully as the other Espada and I did. Crossing her hands, I saw her hairclips flicker and split into a glowing orange triangle over Grimmjow's stump. Luppi continued to tell Orihime how it was useless; that she would fail for sure. I ignored him and watched with amazement equal to Grimmjow's as the arm slowly began to reappear out of absolutely nowhere. Luppi began screeching about something as the fingers reappeared on Grimmjow's hand and he flexed it in surprise. It seemed to be working, and he ordered her again.

"Hey, fix this spot on my back."

Orihime nodded, healing a large scorch mark to show a tattooed 'six'. Luppi rushed him and Grimmjow laughed as Orhime was done, stabbing his new hand through Luppi's chest. I saw Luppi speak once again, right before Grimmjow blasted off everything above the waist with a large and powerful cero. I heard him laugh, the dissonance of his howling victorious laughter.

That was the moment I felt the most hollow.

The most like the monsters that surrounded me right then, the most like a being that had no true soul. The moment I felt like a being that lived only to destroy, to kill, and to revel in the act.

I should have been worried about Orihime, who looked terrified of the reappointed Sexta and crestfallen that her helping Grimmjow had led to another life destroyed. I should have been terrified of the eagerness he had to kill Luppi. I should have been disgusted with the joy he took in the blood and how the bottom half of the former Sexta Luppi dropped heavily to the white stainless floors, now colored crimson. I should have…I should have hated everything about Grimmjow Jeagerjaques.

You know what? I didn't.

I ignored Orihime for the duration of the murder. I forgot anything existed except for Grimmjow and now what was left of Luppi. I hated Luppi, and now he would never call me Nee-chan again. I reveled in the sight of seeing what was left of his corpse drop; I took joy in seeing it. Not even a bit of disgust. And not a bit of terror at Grimmjow Jeagerjaques. In fact, my heart was racing at seeing him all-powerful and so monstrous. So wild and so much a hollow. The laughter excited me, as did the killing. I wanted to be like that; I wanted to be able to kill so easily. Not a nameless Numero either, but a real being that mattered. I wanted to be that kind of monster. I wanted to be as wild and as monstrous and as much a hollow as he was. I envied Grimmjow for all that he was.

I wanted to be a hollow. I wanted to be a hollow like Grimmjow Jeagerjaques.

I dimly came back down from the odd killing euphoria as Grimmjow stalked off and Orihime was lead to her brand new Hell by Ulquiorra. I followed Jeagerjaques with my eyes as he passed, and he casually tossed a proud glance to me as he strutted out into the large white array of Las Noches, and I caught absolute victory in his blue eyes for that moment.

Aizen dismissed the meeting and now that Luppi wasn't there to take me back and Ulquiorra was busy, Szayel was ordered to escort me. He did just that, basically shoving me along and into my room before walking off in that tight clip, obviously thinking he had better things to do than escort a _human_ through Las Noches. Probably dying his hair or something.

I spent the next few hours having attacks over Orihime being here. Where was she? Would Aizen let me talk to her? Fuck that; was it possible for me to talk with her and not eat a cero? Eating ceros wasn't high on my to-do list. Not yet, anyway. Maybe later on.

I was laying on the couch wondering how Orihime would take being stuck in Las Noches when the door opened. Oh, feeding time. Ulquiorra would have the cart rolled in and have me eat (threats. Every single day I got the threats), then leave and drop me back to thoughts.

'Cept, that's not how it played out.

The cart whizzed in and slammed against the opposite wall with a loud crash I wasn't expecting, causing me to fall off of the couch and jump to my feet. The figure that stalked in sure as shit wasn't Ulquiorra.

"Ulquiorra got reassigned to the new human. I've got yer' food now."

Grimmjow stalked in, now balanced out with both arms. It looked odd to me; I was used to one. He leaned against the wall opposite me, crossing his arms and staring.

"What the fuck're ya waiting for? Food's right there, dipshit."

His words snatched me back to reality, and I growled and walked over to the tray. I glanced over the new food arrangement. Not bread and water anymore; the food got upgraded. It was roast chicken and wine. I don't drink wine, sweet shit, but better than the icy Las Noches water. I reached for the plates when I felt my wrist snatched and held tight.

"Didn't ask." Grimmjow smirked, and I snarled. I was used to being commanded to eat and doing it wordlessly; not asking.

"Fuck you, I don't have to." I spat, trying to get out of his grip. It didn't work; he was still stronger than I was. By a lot.

"Fine, you don't get to fucking eat then." And before I could do anything, he hooked his leg around the cart and shoved it hard and out of my reach. A particular raise in his reiatsu from the hand pressed against the wall opened the door and I watched the food cart sail out into the white Las Noches hallways before he shut the door again, leaving me with nothing to eat.  
"Y…YOU BASTARD!! I'm fucking hungry, goddammit!!" I shouted at him, attempting to give him a shove. He caught my wrist with a grin, jerking me close, dangerously close, before shoving me backwards with a flick. I staggered and lost my balance, thudding into the wall painfully.

"You got a real problem with bein' a good girl, don't ya?" He queried, as I stood up straight and incensed.

"Fuck off; I ain't good for nobody. Not Aizen, not fuckin' Ulquiorra, an' sure as shit, not for_ you_." I spat at him, crossing my arms. Now he was walking at me again, and soon enough dropped on the comfortable couch next to me. Crossing his arms behind his head and making himself comfortable in my room, I glared as he stretched out. Instantly, I noticed the hollow hole through his stomach and stared. He could fit a baby through there. I used that measurement a lot of the time; there were millimeters, centimeters, inches, babies, and then feet. It went up from there after that.

"Hey; the fuck you lookin' at." He growled and I snapped back from my coma of fitting babies through things, 'tch'ing.

"Nothin' except that ugly ass hole you got." I stated, staring off at the plain white wall before me.

"Shut the fuck up; yer' forgettin' who yer' talking to again, mouthy bitch." I heard him growl, and ignoring it, I tossed a casual mocking grin over my shoulder.

"Don't be such a pussy."

It was a harmless enough insult, but the reaction I got was much more than I would have anticipated. A split second later, he was gone from the couch and I was on the floor, a decent kick to my hip had made me collapse and slam to the ground. He was towering over me, pissed yet again.

"I'll fucking kill you before you have a goddamn idea of what the fuck happened!"

I saw a flicker of that same look from earlier; he wanted to kill me, kill me like he did Luppi. I really should have been scared and shut up; it would've been the most intelligent course of action.

Instead, I went with the nuclear choice of action.

"I'll drag yer' ass with me, 'cuz if Luppi could take your job I guess it'd be no fucking problem for me, huh??" I spat, and felt a rough grab on the front of my uniform and being dragged into the air, off of my feet. Slam, I hit the wall again and he was growling in my face, as that same hot light built up against the side of my head. Cero.

Normal people would be terrified. Hell, I'm human; the option of death freaks me out just like anyone else. Much, much less, been expecting it for a while now, but every living human has an innate fear of death. Even the junkies that I used to hang with, the ones that always said how they wanted to just die and get it over with. They ran away like everyone else when they were shot at. Nobody really wants to die. They want to be dead, but they don't want to die.

I don't want to die. I know it'll happen soon, but I don't want it to happen.

I should have feared Grimmjow Jeagerjaques too. He was a monster; someone that killed for the hell of doing it.

Then again, he was everything I wanted to be. And right now, instead of being that perfect creature for Luppi, he was getting ready to kill me and I loved how he looked doing it. Wild and crazed and pissed and bloodthirsty; an animal in the truest sense. And so instead of being a normal, sane person and shrinking from him, my own ego clashed with his and attempted to steal his fire, to become like an animal.

"Any last words, mouthy little bastard?" I felt the heat grow near my left temple, and mustered up the last thing I might ever say. And it wasn't 'Don't kill me', or 'I love you Mom/Orihime', or even 'I'll/Ichigo'll/Orihime'll get you for this you bastard'. No, it was much, much different than that.

"YOU'RE A CUM-GUZZLING FAGGOT!!!" I screamed up at him, with all the rage and hate and fire that I could muster. A last hurrah, you might consider it. He stared down at me with something in his eyes for a split second, and I felt the grip he had on my shoulder tighten painfully.

_**And then the world went completely fucking mad.**_

I felt myself being jerked forward and the heat of the cero that _should've_ ended my life disappear, as Grimmjow slammed against me in a vicious, rough kiss. I didn't let him in this time, still shocked that I wasn't dead, and it seemed to piss him off just as much as I wanted to piss him off. Gripping my by the hair, he gave a vicious tear that caused me to yelp without meaning to, giving him the opportunity to once again dominate my mouth. There was no resistance this time, not from me; instead, I fought back with everything I had against him in an attempt to gain the upper hand in our kis-...mouth rape battle. His hand hadn't left it's tight hold on my hair, probably retribution for how I tore at his last time. Every now and then, he would pull down on it to make me tip my head back more, so he could get a better angle at dominating the entire situation. I completely lost that clash, as I should have expected. He was an Espada, after all: he was always going to be stronger than I was. It was only natural that he would be dominant in any sort of action; especially this kind.

He broke the pseudo-kiss suddenly, and for a moment I thought that Ulquiorra was coming again and he'd leave me a flushed moron to go take another two or three cold showers. And Las Noches cold showers are COLD. AS. SHIT.

Instead of that, he turned his attentions to biting at my neck, which of course caused me to make a bigger idiot out of myself and groan. Seemed to spur him on as he continued, and I knew that if I didn't try and take control of this situation then he'd win. I didn't want to lose this fantastically; there was still my pride to contend with, and that pride was quickly slipping through my fingers. I'm still surprised I could string together a coherent thought at this point in time, as I jerked forward and away from the biting, going to lick and kiss at his own neck. Take that, you bastard. I heard him take a hissing breath as I did, letting go of my hair (finally) and putting that hand on my back, gripping my uniform and jerking me back so that he could take control once again and bite even harder than before on my shoulder. I yelped; that one drew blood, I could just feel it. Damn creeper Aizen, giving me a slutty uniform with exposed shoulders. Orihime's uniform better not be this slutty or I'll be pissed.

Before I had noticed it, being preoccupied with getting my shoulder torn up and all, he had slipped a hand up my shirt and gone right for the gold. A rough grab; I pseudo-gasped and dug nails into his forearm, and I could see from the side of Grimmjow's face in my peripheral vision that he was grinning. I knew I was outmatched, this entire time I had maybe gotten in a few moments of victory that had never lasted long, and soon enough I gave up on trying to win and just settled on trying to get in a subsequent bit of retribution now and then. A bit of domination on my part here and there. But I knew that he would be the controller in this encounter, the one that did as they pleased with the other person in the scenario.

He was apparently bored with the current goings-on, running his tongue up from my shoulder to my ear and growling into it, making me shudder violently.

"Done with the gasping and groaning. I wanna hear what your screaming sounds like."

A violent twisting of the world, I was dragged up and went airborne for a moment, landing with a thud on the overstuffed couch in a slight daze. I snapped back to reality as I saw him walking from around the end of the couch, jerking off his open jacket and dropping it to the floor as he came at me. I didn't move; didn't have enough time to do anything but notice that my shoulder was bleeding (no surprise there, Jeagerjaques) before he kneeled on the end of the large couch at my feet, moving to lean over me and take me into a rough kiss again. I didn't fight at all, barely tried to gain dominance and merely attempted to move my own tongue with his, to create that electric feeling we'd had back at the first time, when he'd randomly kissed me to shut me the hell up. I closed my eyes and wrapped an arm around his neck, moving my hand to grip his hair much less violently than before, more a way to grip and hang onto him. I felt one of his hands once again slide up along the front of my shirt, now searching for a zipper. Grimmjow found it, and as he jerked it down quickly and tore the slutty article of clothing off of me to throw randomly across the room, I had a brief thought. It wasn't really how I expected the entire encounter to turn out; not at all.

It's not something you'd expect from someone like me who grew up in a city built on drugs, sex and the Mafia. I have an idea how fucking stupid this sounds, but it's the only reason I have. It's not because I didn't have the opportunity; sure as shit, I had the opportunity to go like every other slut in Kyoto and just get my brains fucked out. I'm not a dog or anything; sure, bit rough and the personality scares off most, but the draw isn't nonexistent.

I think the reason I'm still a virgin was because it was the one thing that I hadn't lost yet.

I think it was the small bit of me that was still Daddy's girl, in pigtails and a pretty dress with her hair tied back in pink ribbons. The good girl that wanted to make her parents proud, the one that wanted to be good and be a virgin until she was married just so her father could look down from Heaven and say, 'I'm so proud of her, she's so pretty in her white wedding dress'.

Now I know that he's not in 'Heaven', he's in Rukongai and he doesn't remember shit about me. If he's still alive in Rukongai at all; hell, he might have gotten his throat slit awhile back and be reincarnated as a kid somewhere right now. He's not looking down on me like an angel, and he'll never see me in a wedding dress. There's no such thing as a happy ending, and that's what pisses me off the most. Because happy, pretty, kind girls like Orihime Inoue have to go through the same shit as foulmouthed, brooding, violent thugs like Inju Zetsumei.

I hope she doesn't have to feel this sort of torment when she has her first time. If she ever does.

I was brought back to Hueco Mundo as Grimmjow didn't even bother unhooking the (white) bra I was wearing, just ripped it off and threw it in a completely random direction. It was cold in the room, and being stared at like prey wasn't helping either. It was only a second before he was on me again, toying around with one of my breasts while roughly biting and sucking on the other one. I arched my back; let out a sharp noise akin to groan and felt the heat between us. My mind was leaving me just as the drive to protect my pride had, and as he left a trail of hot open-mouth kisses up my chest and along my collarbone, I just wanted to have some sort of win in this, and knew that it wasn't going to happen. I was putty; couldn't do a thing other than respond to the touches, knowing that I wasn't going to be leaving this encounter a virgin.

"G...Grimm..." I panted, pressing my cheek against the remnants of his mask and gripped the back of his neck. He apparently took this as some sort of sign, and pulled back enough to take my appearance into account. A shirtless, flushed, panting woman that was at least a couple hundred years younger than him laying on a couch too poofed to be comfortable laid underneath him, and after a moment of looking me over he began to grin.

"You're a lot easier to be around when you shut the hell up. Guess that only happens when you wanna get fucked, huh?"

The words struck me oddly. I hadn't remembered that I was indeed currently wanting it like a whore. Now that I did remember, I found that small bit of guilt start to come back into my mind, past the lust and the maddening urge. It wasn't too long I had to ponder it before I realized he was grabbing the waist of my pants, not bothering with the zipper and merely dragging them off and dropping them by the side of the bed. Just white panties now, the ones Ulquiorra had casually held up to me with the shirt when I hadn't wanted to get changed into the uniform. It only slightly arrived to me that I was still in shoes; I kicked them off and the black tabi as well, and was half expecting him to just rip them off me and get it all over with.

OF COURSE NOT!! Grimmjow Jeagerjaques can't be merciful enough to let me have a bit of pride when I walk away from this encounter. Silly.

He grinned as I felt pressure over a place quickly collecting heat; he was rough with the pressing and rubbing against me, but I couldn't help to do anything except go mad. It was so insane, how I had gone from a mouthy bitch that nearly got my face blasted off with a cero Luppi style to a whimpering idiot, useless to do anything against the teasing of one Grimmjow Jeagerjaques. The earlier guilt was completely and totally gone, now replaced with nothing at all aside from the lightning sensations as he pressed harder to get a sharp cry.

"Damn, ya really want me to fuck you bad, don't ya? Just lookit how soaked you are."

I didn't want to realize that he was right, but I was forced to as he stuck his fingers in my face. Wet. If only the Karakura Ghostbusters could see me now. If only Orihime were to see me now, see me when I'm under a psychotic bastard that drives me insane. I hope she never ever has to see me like this.

"Guess I shouldn't keep ya waiting, huh?" He stated nonchalantly, leaning forward to press his waist and everything included against mine. I whimpered at the feeling of something very hot and hard pressing against me, and without meaning to I splayed my legs a bit wider to give him better angle. He laughed sharply and leaned back to deprive me of the heat, and I looked up in disappointment to see him dragging off his hakama and tossing them aside and across the room, kicking off geta and tabi as I had done. A quick ripping noise and my underwear dropped like everything else, leaving me exposed to the Sexta. He grinned at the obvious embarrassment I had to being so helpless, and ran a couple fingers along the inside of my warmth. I gripped the fabric of the couch tighter, and the obvious wetness of his fingers disquieted me only a small bit. Thought was leaving, leaving very quickly when he dropped the boxers (white, like all the other shit around here) and chucked them even further than the hakama. I blandly heard them hit the opposite wall as I stared in dull shock at what was apparently about to tear me to shreds. Grimmjow grinned in obvious pride; fuck, if I was a guy and I had that I'd put a picture frame around it. Surprised he didn't. Now that I think about it, he probably did on occasion. Maybe he chased the poor Numero with it.

"Alright, get ready 'cuz I'm not gonna be pussyfootin' around and just sit there for ya." He warned, moving closer and I felt the end pressing against my entrance. I regained some sort of fire and gritted my teeth, giving a dismissive smirk.

"Wasn't about t' ask ya."

Right about then, with one quick thrust he was in and I was gritting my teeth, clawing my hands. It hurt, hurt like hell. I'd heard it would, but I didn't expect it to be this bad. A painful burning. 'Oh, sex is great'. Bullshit, if it's like this. He jerked back out, and for a moment I thought it was from rejection for some kind of reason before he was all the way in again, and I yelped. He gripped my hips, continuing in the rhythm and with every vicious thrust, it lost the angry burning pain and instead I felt a different kind of friction, a kind that caused pleasure to course through my mind instead of pain. He gripped tighter, getting faster in the pacing and I stopped hissing in pain and began to cry out, hands moving from the couch to grasp at him and hold on tightly, pulling him closer and digging nails into the flesh of his back. He leaned forward enough for me to claw down his back, growling out anything at all in my ear just to make me feel as dirty as I dimly recognized myself as now.

"Such a fucking whore, you just scream for me and we barely know each other. You want me fucking you, you love it and you want it more. Bet your fucking friends back in that shitty little town'd think yer' just as much a slut as I think you are. Their precious friend getting her brains fucked out by a hollow; that orange haired bitch you're best-fucking-friends with 's as far from your mind as possible right now, even if she's fucking stuck in a room by herself surrounded by tons of fucking hollows that'd just love to fuck her brains out, fuck her as hard as I'm fuckin' you. But you're not even thinking about her; you're thinking about me and how much you love me shoving my dick in you."

I hated hearing the words, but I loved how he was saying them. I loved hearing him talk dirty about what a slut I was, it drove me even closer than I already was. I wrapped my legs around his waist, and with the next thrust he hit something that made me scream, made me arch my back and drag nails down through his flesh, made me even more of an animal than I was. He didn't stop hitting that exact spot, now breathing as heavily as I was and biting down on my collarbone, dragging his sharp teeth across the thin flesh and drawing lines of crimson to stain my skin, to go along with the perspiration already covering my body. I was so close, dangerously close to something amazing and as he continued to thrust into me, I could see him gritting his teeth and I guessed that he was probably just as close as I was.

"Say my name." Grimmjow growled, and I didn't respond. In response, he stabbed extra viciously onto that area and made me scream again.

"Grimm..." I said between pants.

"Louder!" He commanded, and I obliged after another stab.

"Grimmjow!" I cried out, and he gripped so tightly onto my hips that I knew I'd bruise later on.

"I WANT AIZEN TO HEAR IT!! I WANT THAT ORANGE HAIRED BITCH INOUE TO HEAR IT!!!" He roared, and with one final and extra hard thrust I finally obtained that amazing climax, giving him the scream he wanted. As I did, I happened to catch the slightest glance of him over me and saw the moon through his hollow hole, saw it cast a wicked version of the light that had shone over my heart back in Karakura, when I had nearly been killed by the hollow. Once again it was over my heart, and at that exact moment in time I was reminded that Grimmjow Jeagerjaques was a hollow. That he wasn't human, that he was a monster that devoured souls and killed just to kill. That we were two entirely different beings. It dimmed my heart, sent a crack through my soul as I still screamed his name, called it to the heavens.

"GRIMMJOW!!!"

I howled, sure that everyone in Las Noches would hear it and after another few thrusts I felt him groan slightly and tighten his grip to a crushing level as a heat I thought would scald me filled up inside of my body. I was trapped in the white haze, able to do nothing but lay there and pant, barely capable of breathing. He leaned over me for a good while, his head on my unbitten shoulder and the maskless half of his face against mine. We stayed like that for a little while, still joined and both merely taking the time to breath before I felt him move up and bite down on my bare shoulder to match the other, blood most likely being drawn. A moment later, he pulled out slowly to hear me sigh slightly and used my underwear to clean himself off with, grabbing the fallen uniform top and tossing it over me while he hunted down his clothes and got dressed silently. The room stank of sex, and I dimly leaned up on my elbows to watch as he stalked by me towards the door. A casual glance back to me as the door opened, and I watched as he reached forward and gripped the long-cold food cart and dropped a plate and a leg of the chicken on it upon the floor of my room.

"Payment for a good fuck."

He stated dismissively, strolling out of the room and slamming the door behind him. I would normally have been either pissed or crushed at losing my innocence, what little I had left at least, to such a bastard. One that had no love for me or anything close to it. But I was dull, emotionless as I retrieved my clothes and got dressed again slowly, casting the ruined bra off to the end of my couch. My underwear as well; looks like I was going commando until I could get Ulquiorra's attention to get me new clothes. I dropped back on the couch, ignoring tabi and geta for the moment just to curl up in a couch that stank like sex, to just lay there and forget that right now I had Grimmjow Jeagerjaques, the Sexta Espada's come in me. Forget that I'd just fucked a hollow and instead retreat to the sweet blackness of sleep.

Forget that I'd have to face Orihime.

**((AN: First straight sex scene I've ever written. Wow. Well, think of this as an apology for not updating in the past couple of days. Tell me what you think of it, awrite gaiz? Toodles!!))**


	15. Meeting With The Princess

**((AN: Chapter fifteen, oh chapter fifteen. Probably going to be a very angsty and introspective chapter; what, was ANYBODY expecting fluff after the last one? No, this is going to be the angsty one. Fluff, if it ever comes at all (which I doubt it will) is not going to be in this one. Thanks again to my two reviewers, who I will not name again because they're the only two that have ever reviewed and they know who they are. Thanks again you guys; the reviews really are what keep me writing.))**

I don't know how long it was that I was asleep, probably five or six hours or something like that, but I woke up sore and still exhausted from mine and Grimmjow's earlier encounter. My shoulders stung, and I saw that red had seeped into the white material on my shoulders and my collarbone. Really, I wanted to sleep some more but I'd found that the stench of sex stuck in the couch fabric where my face was buried somewhat sickened me. Sitting up, I found that a new uniform sat at my feet and assumed it was Ulquiorra who dropped it off, most likely giving me his judgmental emo stare as he did. Fuck him, I had had a hard enough day. Or night. Whatever fucking time it was.

I grabbed the clothes and stood, moving back to the bathroom and stripping for the second time today, though this time I did it instead of Grimmjow. My pants were unpleasantly sticky against my thighs; I hated the feeling, knowing exactly what was making them stick to me. Him, what he had given me in the end was what made my legs so sticky and I hated it. I had heard that a woman's first time was always so wonderful afterwards; the stories they always told me in junior high (this was when I was cool for starting trouble, not a thug) was that it'd hurt at first, and then it'd get better and he'd hold you close and whisper sweet nothings in your ear, before you finished and just laid with each other for hours. No, that's not how the world works anymore. Not in Las Noches. Not in my world. It wasn't 'lovemaking'. It wasn't 'soul bonding'. It was sex. Dirty, nasty, wild, animalistic fucking that ended in me losing what little I really had left that could be considered innocence, the only thing I gained being two bites on my shoulders that from the look of them would probably scar over, sticky come from a soul eating beast that didn't love me for shit inside of me and this feeling that was so...so very...

So very hollow.

Maybe this is how they felt after they fucked. I wonder if Bitch and Butch felt this way when they probably fucked Aizen, felt so completely used and in the end, superfluous. Unneeded. No, they were hollows in the end. They fucked to fuck, probably didn't expect any sort of love in return. Maybe that's just a human notion. A silly one, you know. The foolish idea that he'll need you in the end, that he won't find some other whore to fuck when you're on the rag, or when you've got a headache. Love only lasts for two years, I heard someone say. Scientific study. Grimmjow's and mine lasted for around an hour. Maybe it wasn't anything at all I felt at that point in time, but I know that it was a raging drive to see him want to kill me, to see him powerful and proud and dangerous and...hollow. Maybe...

Maybe I should become a hollow.

Hell, it wouldn't be much of a jump from what I am now. I'm violent, I like to kill and I feel just about as broken and used as possible. The only thing that kept me from going to Aizen at that moment, going up to him and asking him to kill me and make me an Arrancar that didn't remember shit about it, was Orihime. I had this silly notion that she needed me, that some sort of purpose was with my existence. That I was somehow needed in some way. Grimmjow's words, the ones growled in my ear right before he finished and left me with a sickening warmth deep in me, were the ones that gave me that idea. Nnoitra Jiruga did like pretty women, and Orihime Inoue was undeniably a pretty girl. I felt like I needed to be the Tatsuki Arisawa of Las Noches. I felt like, even if they could kill me in a moment's time, I had to protect Orihime. Fuck, I wanted to die right about then anyway. What was the big loss of it all?

I finished undressing and hit the tap, turning the water to a scalding hot. I wanted it to burn me, burn away this guilt. I turned it onto the shower setting and stepped in, immediately hissing as the scalding water hit the bites and sizzled. I ignored it, making myself stand through the burning hot water until I became accustomed to it, as accustomed as I was to the angry stinging of self-hate. I did, and it struck me how easily I adapted to the heat. Just like how I adapted to being monstrous.

I remember scrubbing. Scrubbing so hard, washing myself as completely as possible of the smell, of the feeling of his skin against mine. I raked along my neck, where his tongue ran across heated flesh. I did all but remove the skin of the inside of my thighs, finding with a deep-seated disgust that as I ran my hand along what Grimmjow Jeagerjaques had so viciously owned, that my fingers were stained with the same milky stickiness on my legs, the same mocking evidence of my loss, the same notice of what I was and what I wasn't any longer. How much was in me now, I didn't know and I didn't want to know. I washed my hands in the burning water and continued scrubbing. In the end, my flesh was raw and I still felt as dirty as when I had got in.

Oh, if I had only known that I'd have felt like this. If I had known when he first grabbed my face and held a growing cero to the side of my head, I might not have screamed like that in obvious defiance that he couldn't crush any other way. I might just have started crying, showing Grimmjow that there was nothing left for him to break down and just let him kill me right there. Kill me, and spare me the feeling that I held now, spare me the feeling of his poison within me.

I washed my hair to get the sweat and the smell out of it, washed it more than once. The images of Orihime finding out filled my mind, and I leaned against the white wall of the shower and merely thought on it.

_"You did what?? Ugh Inju, that's so nasty!! Gross, get away from me!"_

_"You...and Grimmjow?? That guy that killed the other one in front of me?? You had sex with a murderer? You like murderers, don't you. You want to be a murderer. You ARE a murderer! I don't want to even be around you anymore, you sick freak! Murderer! Murderer! MURDERER!!!"_

The chants of mental Orihime shouting 'murderer' crippled me, and I knew I should have had more faith in her than that. But how could she see me as anything else? Anything at all other than a beast? A monster? A...murderer?

A hollow?

The realization of what I'd become hit me so hard. I was, I was a hollow. I wasn't physically or soul-wise a hollow, not yet at least, but I was a hollow, if you'd think about it. I wondered, 'How the hell will Orihime ever see me the same after everything I've done here.'

That was right about when I started sobbing. Sobbing like a little bitch, like a child. I leaned against the wall of the shower, and just let it free. Howling, horrible crying that tore at my heart. I lamented everything; I cried for being here, I cried for Orihime being here. I cried for falling into Aizen's trap so easily, I cried for losing it all to Grimmjow Jeagerjaques. I cried just to cry.

I just cried.

____

It must have been at least an hour later that I finally got out of the shower, drying myself off in lachrymose silence. Redressing was slow and as I did, I briefly wondered what Orihime was doing. I wanted to see her, and at the same time, I really didn't. I really, really didn't.

Stepping out of the bathroom, I fell back onto the couch and closed my eyes. The smell was nearly gone now; probably ventilated through the open window. I was glad for that. There was no more crying from me; I couldn't do any more of it. My throat burned and I knew that my once-livid amber eyes, burning with will and passion and arrogance and self-assurance had dulled to a brown. A broken down, crippled brown. Aizen's shade of brown. Of course, they weren't as sharp and venom-filled as his.

"...Sorry." I said to nobody at all. Maybe I said it to the moon, a secret observer of that night's tryst. Maybe I was apologizing for the moon having to watch that, having to cast light over my heart the same as when it had shone through his hollow hole above me. Maybe that was what I was apologizing for. Maybe it was.

The sound of the door opening dimly caught my attention, and the figure was all to familiar as he leaned against the wall. Ulquiorra had apparently gotten the plate of chicken and taken it away, and Grimmjow stared down on me with an unfamiliar intensity.

"Get the fuck up. Aizen wants ya to see that Inoue chick."

Another mental trap of Aizen's. I briefly wondered if he could read my mind and know exactly what I didn't want to do. I didn't respond to Grimmjow, instead merely standing up and walking slowly over to him. As I passed through the open door and into the sea of white that was Las Noches, I felt him grab me by the arm and hold me there. I didn't turn to meet his gaze.

"The fuck is wrong with you." I heard him query in a low growl. My voice was a helluva lot more emotionless than I would normally have wanted it to be.  
"Nothin'. Let me go." I didn't pull and he didn't let go, and we stayed there for a moment. He let go and I waited for him to walk in front of me, myself following slowly but quickly enough not to get too far behind and get lost. It was a few hallways down from mine, and the door opened quietly so that Grimmjow and I could walk inside.

I'll never really be able to explain the feeling I had in my heart when I saw her.

I stepped in to see her looking at her hands in her lap quietly, Ulquiorra standing off to the side to presumably watch the meeting. She turned her eyes up to us, and as her vision fell on me I saw pure shock cross her face.

"I...Inju?" She asked quietly, standing and reaching out towards me. I didn't move, only taking in the good sight of her person and the bitter part of her being in her new Las Noches uniform. It was a lot less slutty than mine, and that would have normally pissed me off if I hadn't have been shocked at seeing her.

"Yeah...it's me..." I said equally quietly, hearing Grimmjow move back to lean against the wall opposite Ulquiorra as Orihime approached, grabbing the front of my uniform. I think she wanted to see if I was actually real, to see if I was here in the same situation as her. I was. Well, not truly. Orihime Inoue had no idea of the conflict in my heart, but I wouldn't betray that as I, for the first time in all the time I've been in Las Noches, genuinely smiled. She gripped the front of my uniform tighter, and I saw her tear up and then grab me in a crushing hug. Her head on my shoulder, her face pressing into me and I knew she was crying.

"W-we th-thought you ha-had r-run of-ff!!" She said against my shoulder, and I ignored the sting of pressure on the bites. I loosely put my hands around her in a hug, laying my cheek against her head

"No. I got kidnapped, by Emobitch over there in the corner." I stated, feeling a dull satisfaction at insulting Ulquiorra to his face. I think I heard Orihime giggle a bit, and move back a step. Just to look at me, with relief and happiness in her face and lively gray eyes.

_'Not gonna be that lively for long, Orihime.'_

I caught myself thinking, and scowled at the thought. What the hell was I thinking, saying shit like that to even just myself?? She's not...she's not me. She's gonna stay like she is. She'll stay happy. That's what I told myself, as she laughed a bit and caught me by surprise.

"You look so serious Inju!!"  
She half-yelled, laughing through her words. I smiled, despite my black thoughts, and laughed a bit. Grimmjow and Ulquiorra stood as ever-present reminders of where we were, and I knew we'd never be able to really talk with them there.

"Can you guys give us a minute? Not like we can escape or anything." I requested, regaining a bit of my old self and gesturing to a room near identical to mine. Ulquiorra examined us both with a raking stare, and I saw Orihime shrink a little bit from Grimmjow's. I didn't move, and Ulquiorra finally turned and began walking out of the room.  
"You have ten minutes before Inju will leave."  
Grimmjow followed after another moment of staring, and the both of them were hanging around the outside of the room by the feel of the reiatsus.

Orihime began to walk back to the couch and sat down, myself following after and appreciating the fact that her room didn't reek of sex. She looked at me quietly, before I finally asked what I'd been wondering this entire time.

"Orihime...how long has it been? Since I was in Karakura?"

She hesitated on telling me, but eventually gave a light sigh and relented.

"A month." She seemed to think the answer would crush me, but to her apparent surprise I laughed.

"That's it? It felt like years! Every day, just lazing around and getting force fed by Emobitch and-"

_'And getting my brains fucked out by Grimmjow Jeagerjaques, and really liking it, and killing random Numero, and being a murderer, and slowly but surely turning into a hollow, and-'_

The negatives of what I'd been doing set a dark stain across the meeting I'd wanted to have for so long. But not here; not in Las Noches. I wanted to have seen her again after a daring escape, which I knew wasn't going to be happening. Now we were meeting again in the worst of places, and I looked down at my lap as well.

"...Orihime...stuff has happened here..." I began, before she smiled and laughed a bit.  
"Don't worry; I don't care what happened here Inju. It can't be that bad!"

I had seen her horror as Grimmjow nuked Luppi; I was pretty sure she'd care about me randomly killing the Numero. The obvious pain on my face must have been obvious.

"...Inju, even if it is bad, I'm not going to hate you or anything. You're my friend; I couldn't hate you." She stated kindly, and my heart ached again.

"...Alright Orihime. I trust you. So how's everyone else doing?" It was a quick topic change, but I think she knew I didn't want to talk about what I'd done quite yet, and I'm glad she didn't ask.

"Oh, they're all fine! Ichigo's gotten real strong, and the war's gonna be in a couple months apparently, and Aizen wants to use the Oken to go to the alternate dimension with the Royal Family in it and kill the king so he can be king."

I nodded a bit, understanding it all.  
"And how have you been?" It was an innocent enough question, but I saw sadness touch her eyes as she looked away from my eyes. I knew that something had happened, and I stopped asking.  
"Who brought you here? Was it Emobitch?" The pet name I'd given Ulquiorra made her smile again, and she nodded sadly.

"Yes, he...gave me a little bit of time."

She didn't offer the details, and I didn't ask. Instead, we chatted a bit here and there about this and that, avoiding one bigass elephant in the room.

'Are we ever going to get rescued?'

Neither wanted to think about the possible answer. And so eventually, I got around to another difficult question.

"Orihime...what do they think about me disappearing? Do they actually think I ran off, or..." It was an open statement, fine for her to finish if she'd like. She looked down, and finally did.

"They think you went traitor."

It hit me. They didn't trust me enough to know that I'm not idiot enough to join with Asshole Aizen. I wanted to ask her if she thought I ran off, and as I began and she understood what I was beginning to ask, the door opened again.

"Woman. You are to go back to your own room." Ulquiorra's drab monotone called out, and I snarled. For a moment, I considered telling him to fuck off 'cuz we weren't done talking yet, but the obvious fear Orihime held of them propelled me to regretfully stand, and say a very quick goodbye to Orihime before walking off to the doorway.

"We'll talk again, Orihime. See you then." I said it with a note of false cheer, and I know she must have detected it. She gave a nod, smiling equally fragile as I did and I walked out to the bland white hallways. Ulquiorra rolled in the food cart for Orihime, and I saw the door close in my face.

It had been a brief respite from the guilt and mundaniety that had quickly become an everyday occurrence. But it had been entirely too short. At least she convinced me that there was nothing to worry about in telling her...well, she didn't really convince me. I still had lingering doubts about letting her know what had happened last night, but I had a strong glare of hope that she'd still accept me. It made me smile a bit.

"What the hell're you smiling about." I heard a growl beside the door, and automatically did I know who it was. I sighed, feeling slightly more normal.

"None of your damn business, Jeagerjaques." I turned to face him, and saw that he was leaning against the wall staring at me. He stood, walking up to me and staring down in my face.

"How come you're so damn peppy now? Weren't you all fuckin' emo earlier?" The question made me smile with victory over him, which seemed to piss him off.

"Wouldn't you love to fuckin' know. Let's go; I'm getting pretty damn hungry since you kicked out the food cart earlier and decided that fuckin' me was a better use of our time."

I felt like I was walking on air, even for a quick moment. It just felt like a weight had been dropped from my soul, and I had another reason to live again. It was all normal for me. I didn't care if I was deflowered by Grimmjow; fuck, better than gettin' my ass raped by Nnoitra and that shit was inevitable.

"Don't fucking talk down to me." He spat, and I felt him dig his nails into my bitten shoulder. I winced noticeably, and he gripped even tighter into the wound. I jerked, tore out of his grip and began to walk before a hand snatched my upper arm and dragged me around to look at him. His glare was bright; I glared back and we remained silent for a moment. He dropped my arm without a word and began to stalk off, and I caught up by speed walking. We arrived in silence at my room and he basically kicked me in and threw the food cart after me, slamming the door. I ate, ate until I couldn't barely move (It had been two days since I ate anything, because after yesterday's antics he didn't come back and I slept all day) and then I laid down on the couch, once again trapped in my own mind.

It was odd to me; I didn't really care about the sex anymore. Orihime had lifted my heart again, put the fire back in me. I wanted to let Grimmjow know that it hadn't affected me, and I was pretty sure that he got that message from my exit. I closed my eyes, knowing that I'd turn out fine here.

"I'll survive. I'll survive, if just for Orihime."

**((Well, that ended less angstily than I had predicted. Oh well. Anyway, you all know how much I adore reviews and reviewers, so...yeah. Orihime's pairing is getting a start on soon, and the Grimmjow/Inju drama isn't going to be ending any time soon. Toodles!!))**


	16. Second Time on the Carousel

**((AN: Well, it's been awhile due to the hole that I'd gotten myself stuck in. But I've gotten a basic of idea of what to do next, so here we go. And apparently, I created Inju's appearance while forgetting about Halibel's fraccion Apache. So great; Inju looks like Apache. Without the two colored eyes or the red eyeliner or horn. So human Apache. Great; high-fives for everyone.  
Not happy sex in this chapter. Very not happy. Grimmjow is still...well, Grimmjow. He's still an asshole at heart and likes to get his way. But we get a happy bit in the end. Yay silver linings!))**

* * *

My eyes flickered open to once more observe the ever-so-interesting white ceiling of my cell. 'Room' as Aizen called it. Prick. As I sat up, a quick glance was paid around the room to observe that Butch and Bitch weren't hiding anywhere or something of that nature. They hadn't done it before, but paranoia never hurt in Las Noches.

"Eh...shower time. I guess."

I mechanically grabbed the clean set of clothes on top of my couch and rolled off of the furniture to slink to the bathroom. The room had since held vague, embarrassing memories of a complete breakdown happening in the shower. How long had it been since that happened? I didn't know; stopped being able to count the days because Grimmjow sucks as a food whore. He shows up whenever the hell he feels like it and it's never on time with Ulquiorra's mechanical precision. You could've set your watch by Ulquiorra's visits, I bet. Grimmjow? You couldn't even set a calendar on him because _someone_ decided not to show up when they didn't feel like it. Lazy ass.

It was a quick shower; wouldn't want to miss anything _interesting _in Las Noches_._ Because interesting things happen all the time I bet, and I'm the one that misses out. I dried lazily, not even bothering with the hair really. Mostly shaking my head like a dog and spraying water everywhere before getting dressed and leaving wet spots on my clean uniform here and there because, what the hell, I'm lazy. Didn't bother with shoes again; I left those by the couch because who the hell needed shoes when you barely leave one room.

My white (please tell me that you weren't expecting another color) towel was around my neck as I walked into the main room, sighing. Nice feeling to walk out of a nice, warm bathroom with that hot steam floating in the air right into a cold as shit room with all the ventilation of a morgue. And not to mention the only sounds I got aside from my own breathing and the occasional footsteps outside my door was a roar or screech from a hollow across the white sands of Hueco Mundo. Nice little way to freak me the fuck out on occasion, that little window. Aizen probably put it there on purpose. Asshole.

"Hey."

The voice made me stop, stop and glance back at the corner of the room. If I'd have been the philosophic type, I might have realized that even at the sudden voice calling my attention, I wasn't afraid but merely dimly surprised. Seeing the voice's owner, I turned back and dropped onto my couch with a low sigh.

"What, Jeagerjaques."

I refused to use his title or any sort of honorifics: If Aizen didn't get that kind of treatment, then Grimmjow sure as shit wouldn't. Pulling my towel from behind my neck, I flicked it out a couple times to get the folds out (Why I even bothered, I have no real idea. Maybe it was some freak tic gained from Las Noches) and draped it over my feet to see if I could get residual warmth from it. Grimmjow was leaning against the far wall, staring at me with a bored sort of expression. Searching, but in an odd distant and uninterested manner.

"The hell you even bother anymore."

It was a question I wasn't prepared for, and I rolled my head over a bit to look at him with a 'What' kind of expression.

"What? Whaddya mean."

I hung my arm over the side of the couch, lazily. The Sexta wasn't a threat to me anymore; what could he possibly threaten to take from me that I still have and give a damn about? Life? Well, my life was boring as shit now. Shit, death might even be more interesting than life. Not like rape even mattered to me anymore either. I wasn't a virgin anymore so there wasn't anything to really lose, and in the end I had thoroughly enjoyed the encounter. Not the day or so after it, but the encounter in and of itself. And Orihime wasn't in danger, because Aizen apparently needed her for something too. Nothing to threaten that I give a damn about anymore.

Grimmjow looked annoyed with me not understanding, and that gave me some sort of satisfaction.

"Nobody's gonna save you. Why aren't you depressed and shit about that? That Inoue bitch sure is."

The bit about Orihime being depressed that we most likely weren't getting rescued kind of stung, but I ignored it mainly and chose to answer Grimmjow with full, brutal honesty.

"Because I didn't have shit left back in Karakura. I had one friend, who's now in Las Noches as the other human captive. My mom is a bitch that doesn't want a thing to do with me and my father's dead. Everyone else in Karakura, all the shinigami and shit weren't my friends and nearly every normal human annoyed the piss out of me. What do I have to look forward to if I'm rescued? Jack shit."

My leg with the white towel on the foot lifted and bent as far backwards as it could so I could snatch the material from it, dropping the towel on my face. It wasn't all too warm anymore and now my feet were cold again, but I didn't mind. My vision of Grimmjow was obscured and I couldn't see anything beyond a white towel as I yawned.

"Nothing for me here, nothing for me there. A soul betwixt with no place to call home. Only one ally who I'll probably never see while I'm here, trapped in a castle of monsters."

I spoke in an introspective voice, waving my hand back and forth in the air to add effect. Sighing, I blew on the towel to lift it a small bit and look at Grimmjow.

"If I was deep then I'd say it was some sort of tragedy. Too bad I'm no poet, eh?"

Reaching to my face, I began to pull the towel off of my face before a hand closed around my wrist and jerked it back away, another hand grabbing my other wrist and transferring it into the first hand to hold me without use of my hands. I stiffened; didn't yell or scream but merely snarled when I felt the weight of another person straddling my hips. Still couldn't see shit; the white towel veil was something I regretted doing for sheer stupidity of the action. Great idea Inju; obscure your vision of a dangerous psychopath in the room with the ability to cross said room in less than a second, all due to your ego. Good idea. You win a medal for idiocy.

"Get the hell off me, Grimmjow."

The lack of an honorific or the use of his last name seemed to be amusing in some way, because I felt laughter against my collarbone. The fact that I was just out of the shower and in a cold room made his hot breath against my skin give me chills. The fact that it was random sensation that I couldn't see and wasn't expecting made it even more effective.

"Pretty damn high-and-mighty to be using my first name an' nothing else." He spoke, and as I tried to jerk my hands free his grip on my wrists tightened to a painful degree. He held my arms above me, pinned to the arm of the fluffed couch with absolutely no range of movement allowed to me.

"Pretty damn egotistical to think you're entitled to fucking me just 'cos you did it once." I growled, his legs pinning mine in place and not allowing any kicking to be done. I might have ended up liking it last time, but that doesn't mean I was going to lay down and let him get his way whenever he felt like it. I felt his face on my throat and hissed through my teeth at the sensation being so powerful when I couldn't see it.

"Admit it, you fucking love it." He laughed against my skin, and I honestly sighed a bit. Not in that 'You're pathetic and an idiot' or 'Here we go again'. But in that 'Dammit that feels so fucking nice' way, the one that made me feel like an idiot for playing into his predator game exactly how he wanted me to. He grinned at the sound, I could feel him grin against my flesh dammit, and made sure to let out a long hot breath just to feel me squirm under him.

"Thought so."

He left my throat for a moment, and I felt the towel moved up just enough so that my mouth and nose were exposed to the chill air.

"You really like this not being able to see shit, don't you? Don't fucking lie to me; I can tell."

Didn't get a chance to lie before his lips were on mine and cutting off any rebuttal I might have had half-formed. It wasn't long at all before he ran his tongue across my bottom lip and I obliged, the electric feelings intensified by not being able to see and therefore expect them. Passion clouded my mind and judgment, and let me allow myself to fight him for dominance once again. This time was different though; I put up an honest effort to win and take dominance. That really didn't work at all, but we were equal in some moments which was good enough for me. It wasn't long at all before I could feel him groping randomly for the end of my top and after a bit, successfully dragging it off again. I didn't hear it land, which probably meant that he threw it pretty far this time and that I'd have a hell of a time finding all my clothes again later. He broke the kiss and leaned back, and I felt him shifting on top of me a bit.

"Nice scars."

I blinked. What scars? A hand ran over my left shoulder, right about where he bit last time and I realized that both of his little bite marks must have scarred over pretty well. Never looked, because they healed up alright enough. Didn't get enough time to think about it before I realized that he'd gone quiet, and wasn't doing anything at that moment.

"Huh. Zamiel? The fuck is a Zamiel?"

Well, another person in the entire damn population that didn't see Der Freischutz.

"You wouldn't care." I stated, now wishing that I wasn't blindfolded (in a way) and could see him. Whatever; I was his cumdumpster, it seemed. Why would what _I_ want matter? After a moment, my white bra was off and tossed aside as he seemed to ignore my chest. I realized that he had something else on his mind entirely while my pants were cast aside, and my panties pulled off equally quickly. But before I could wonder why he was so rushed in it, the hand holding my wrists began to work with another and I realized that he was using my panties to tie up my wrists. I struggled but was subdued easily and found that he was rather good at tying knots with underwear. Wonder if he does this often.

"Dammit, what the hell!" I spat, and the towel slipped down and off of my face. I saw him on top of me grinning like a maniac, topless, in his boxers and victorious. The way my arms were positioned when he tied them, all I could do was hold them behind my back and growl at him.

"You asshole, untie me right the fuck now."

His weight let up and I felt him drag me up by the hair onto my knees in front of him. He kept a tight grip on my hair and I winced, losing the combative air I held earlier.

"Rushed last time, didn't we? How about I show you what_ I _like?"

I blinked and was silent a moment before glaring hard at him and that arrogant smirk he wore.

"What you like? And whatever could that be, your highness."

His smirk widened at the pseudo question before jerking my head down suddenly and pressing my face against his groin. I felt heat and an obvious hardness, and he smirked down on me.

"You're not retarded. Guess."

I hissed, thoroughly pissed off at him now. Why the hell is it that every time he gets even remotely sexual, I get pissed off? Prick.

"Why the hell should I."

An obvious challenge. He didn't seem to like being challenged, because his smirk turned into a snarl.

"Because that Inoue chick has a bigger rack, and she's easier on the damn eyes."

The threat was clear, and my will to fight visibly withered. Because I'm sure that Aizen only wants her alive and able to use her powers. He probably doesn't give a shit about her getting raped or not. He obviously doesn't, actually, because I'm sure that GAWD can feel that Grimmjow's reiatsu has been in my room for a long time, and is real close to mine. Aizen, you ass.

"F...fine." I spoke, moving to lay my cheek against his erection.  
"What do you want me to do?"

The change of heart made him smirk viciously, and I could have decided to tell him to fuck off just based on that one expression of victory if Orihime's probable virginity hadn't been at stake.

"Pull 'em down." He ordered like a king, and I stared up at him incredulously.

"I can't use my arms, dammit."

Grimmjow sighed a bit, staring down at me as if I were a moron.

"Get creative. Use your fucking teeth."

Well, that's not demeaning at all. I hesitated a moment before complying. Since his pants were already off and it was just boxers, it was easy to accomplish but damn does an ego take a blow from the act. I got them down far enough and he was freed to intimidate me once again. Dammit.

"Little bit of a rocky start, but you seem capable. Guessing since you never fucked before I came along, then you never sucked a cock before either."

He was reclining on MY couch like some sort of king, watching me closely. I shook my head a bit, and he smirked.

"Well, time to learn. And if you bite me then I swear I'll rip your ass in half and then go break Inoue in." He threatened, and I could see that it wasn't a bluff. Since he probably wasn't going to be giving narration, and an extremely small part of my mind was secretly thinking that blowjob narrated directions would be both creepy and strangely awesome, I decided that maybe I'd work my way up. It began as kissing, then went to licking, and before long he got tired of me stalling for time and just grabbed my hair and shoved me onto him and all the way to the base. I nearly gagged; could see him impatient. Then again, he never said anything about accidentally throwing up on him because he was an impatient asshole that couldn't wait a couple damn minutes. Maybe I could get away with...nah. He'd probably get even more pissed at me.

"Go, dammit. Take so fucking long."

Grimmjow let go of my hair and I obliged, moving slowly. I quickly realized that I hated this particular sex act because that gag reflex never really subsided at all, and was even more pissed off when he dragged me off of him.

"Fuck, isn't that what you wanted??" I spat, giving up on holding my head up and letting him do it by my hair. Whatever; I just really didn't give a fuck anymore. Grimmjow just gave me a once-over before pulling me forward and onto him, letting him slip down and lay on the couch flat on his back.

"We're fucking this way, 'cause I feel like it. On."

_'Yeah, not too turned on right now you prick. Maybe because this is technically rape, but whatever. This is fucking HUECO MUNDO: who gives a FUCK what happens to captives.' _I thought with venom, but moved a bit and lifted myself over him. Thinking, 'fuck it', I just dropped and gritted my teeth at the sudden entry. Nothing unlike the first time, except that it was a different position and I still didn't have use of my hands. I heard him hiss a bit at the same thing, but soon enough was already giving small bounces to say, 'Move it along, dammit'.

"Don't have all goddamn day." He stated, though the words were more of a low growl than the normal rough tone.

"Fuck you." I spat in reply, already beginning to move in a steady pace of bounces. It wasn't long before I was forgetting how he had just technically raped my mouth, tied me up and threatened me with Orihime. As much as a bad person it might make me, I completely forgot about that when the relatively small pain disappeared and that deep pleasure returned, already coaxing groans and moans from me. His hands moved to my chest, pinching and rolling and groping so that I would cry out now and then, the constant tugging of my arms on the bonds loosening them. I began to move from bouncing to slamming down on his pelvis, his hands moving from my chest to my hips to aid in adding more force to the slams. The makeshift handcuffs loosened enough for me to slip my wrist free of it and be freed to grab his shoulders tightly, digging my nails in and making no effect at all. Damn Hiro or whatever the fuck the Arrancar called that skin of theirs. The shit that didn't let me see him bleed as much as he made me bleed, didn't let me see him be injured or even somewhat human to me.

I didn't speak, and neither did he because we both knew that neither one of us really had anything we could say at this moment. I was close; a few more slams and I'd be there and he could come and then get the fuck off of me and go wander off like he always did, until he needed another quickie. I managed to look him over before I did reach climax though, see his face strained in passion and his hair all wild and messed up, see how tightly he was holding onto my hips. And for once, I didn't see the hollow hole through his gut and didn't see the mask. Just saw the man.

I finally hit climax and tightened up, a soundless cry interrupted by the fact that he very quickly flipped our positions and shoved me down into the cushions and into a rough, violent kiss. I clung to him and felt him stiffen as well; both of us froze and just sat in the moment for a sparse few seconds. Eventually though, it had to end and I felt him move from a kiss to breathing against my neck. My arms were around his neck, how the hell did they get there.

I still have no idea what possessed me to speak the next sentence, but I swear it was one of the oddest tourettes moments I've ever had.

"Don't go." I breathed out, and then froze at the oddity of the statement. Grimmjow froze in a similar manner, and I would normally have freaked out if I hadn't been in a white post-sex haze right about then. And instead of his normal 'get up, leave' reaction I would've expected, he disentangled my arms from him and I felt his weight drop next to me onto the relatively large couch. I was tired, so tired. Didn't even occur to me that he was actually laying down with me, and that this was something to be wary of. I didn't care, merely rolled over and curled up against him. He was warm and I was tired, and I gave a jerk to the cover on top of the couch and felt it fall over us. It was cold, but I was so hot that it was a welcome feeling and I wrapped up in it. Grimmjow just let it fall over his waist and moved it a bit to be comfortable, letting me cling to him tightly.

"Don't think about all this 'tragedy' and 'victim' shit. Yer' not the kind of bitch to be thinking about that kinda thing. Leave it to that Inoue chick. All you need to worry 'bout is keepin' me satisfied, alright?" He spoke into my hair, and I continued to lay with him quietly after nodding a bit.

Never until that moment in time did I start to truly consider what Grimmjow Jeagerjaques was to me, and never until then had I ever felt like I _needed_ someone as much as this. I didn't know if I would want him around me for anything else later on, and I didn't have any idea if I was more than a sex object to him or not. All I did know was one thing.

* * *

I never slept so well as that night in his arms.

* * *

**((Well, that was rather plotless. More so than I had anticipated, but oh well. Finally starting the pairing up beyond sexii tiem, so that's good. Plot will actually start next chapter, I swear. So forgive the rather off chapter for the next one. See ya.))**


	17. A Heartfelt Commandment

I had my arms around something warm, and I had a good hold on it. A vague realization that I wasn't wearing clothes; I ignored it in lieu of enjoying how warm the other person with me was. Keeping my eyes closed, I replayed the events of…well, I couldn't say last night. I had no idea when last night was. Maybe it was daytime, who the hell knew. But I recalled the encounter from earlier and remembered how pissed I had been at Grimmjow. He was an asshole, a self-interested asshole with his own agenda and no regard for anyone else's wants or needs. But me saying that was the pot calling the kettle black, I suppose.

I could hear him breathe, and it rumbled in his chest. I felt it through my face, cheek lying on the area over his heart. How odd; he had no heartbeat but was warm. I dimly realized that I was cold, and that his cold body must have been taking the warmth of my still-living form. Risking being caught awake, I opened my eyes to look at him, to look at us together.

Grimmjow was lying lazily on the couch, sprawled out and sleeping quietly. I myself was clinging to him; my legs loosely wrapped around one of his and one arm spread out over his chest. The other was lying over the hole in his stomach, and I could feel my fingertips lying against the couch material beneath him. Dimly, I recognized that his arm was around my waist and pulling me against him in an inescapable hold. It would have been even more enjoyable had Grimmjow not been a soul with no heartbeat, and therefore no body heat of his own.

I turned to look up at his face, and notice how serene it looked. He didn't have the normal pissed-off look on his face; now it was just a calm, unbothered expression. Without really thinking at all, I moved the hand sprawled over his side to brush his cheek gently. As soon as I made contact though, he caught my wrist in a tight hold and stared down on me intently.

"The fuck you think you're doing?" Grimmjow growled, and I could feel the rumbling of it in his chest. I snapped from my slight trance and attempted to be a bitch again. Failing miserably.

"N-nothin'. Give me my damn hand back."

I attempted to pull free and he reciprocated the pull with one of his own, dragging me fully on top of him and face-to-face.

"Shut the hell up and answer the fucking question. What the fuck were you doing."

The Sexta was growling in my face, that quiet and gritty tone that indicated I was in an extremely dangerous situation. I loved it. I wondered if he'd hit me. Let's piss him off a little bit more and see.

"None of your goddamn business, Jeagerjaques."

It was a quiet, slow response based to get the worst reaction from him. Maybe I had turned suicidal at one point and just didn't realize it yet. No, it was more or less a desire to see him do something crazy again. But he didn't do anything just yet; more or less get even closer to some brink that I was quickly shoving him towards. Something that would most likely end in some sort of death. Probably mine.  
"Fuck, I don't give a shit. Don't fucking do it again."

It was a low warning and I brushed it off, attempting to sit up and get off of him. Maybe get my clothes, take a shower, lay around the room for six hours, eat and then go back to sleep. I was getting more and more accustomed to the cycle. Instead, I found that he wasn't loosening up the hold on my waist that he had, though my wrist was freed.

"Let me go, dammit."

I jerked upwards, and he held me easily. I was still nowhere near where he was power-wise, and I never would be. I knew that for a fact, really. Instead, I felt Grimmjow grab the back of my neck and drag me down face-to-face again.

"Listen, you little bitch. That's what you are; you're **my** bitch, got it? Few rules now. You don't fucking give me orders, you don't ignore me when I'm talking to you, I top in sex unless I tell you otherwise, and that pussy's MINE. You don't fuck anybody else, period. Got that shit?"

The way he said it, bright cerulean eyes burning with a feral intensity and his voice low and gravelly, left me speechless. The new commandments pissed me off to some extent, but I was too swept up in the raw emotion to say a thing. All I did was nod a bit, which I'd kick myself for later. For not putting up some sort of fight, and letting him know that no matter what I said, he'd always possess some measure of control over my soul, a hypnotic effect that could stun me into placated silence. At the acceptance of his terms, Grimmjow lost the pissed and serious look on his face and replaced it with a victorious grin, before dragging me down further for a rough, violent kiss. A way to seal our little impromptu contract, I suppose. I reciprocated fully, and completely enjoyed it. A small part of my mind was dredging up the question of what exactly he meant to me, and I quashed it as best as I could. Didn't want to think about that particular idea, the slow epiphany I kept putting off. I didn't want to think about this new emotion, the longing I felt for him and the pain that I felt at the thought of him dead or just abandoning me for some slut somewhere. Now was the time to ignore that, and I would very much kick myself later for not just accepting what it was that I felt at that moment.

We broke apart and I quietly laid my head back down on his collarbone, sighing a bit. He nudged me a bit too.

"What, something you don't like?"

He was standoffish, protective about something. Might even be a little self-conscious, though I doubted it completely. I smirked and shook my head.

"Nah. It's just that this isn't exactly how I pictured my senior year to be, yanno? Didn't expect my time as a prisoner of war to be quite like this either."

I could feel him chuckle, and I tugged the blanket up a bit. He was still dead cold and I was getting colder from him. Though he did feel warm now because of me. I closed my eyes, intent upon getting another couple hours or two of sleep.

That was right about when the door opened.

Both Grimmjow and I sat up like lightning to stare at Ulquiorra, who was wearing an expression different from the norm. Actually, less of an expression and more like a widening of the eyes. Apparently, this particular scene was not in his expected set.

"…What have you done, Grimmjow."

He recovered quickly, and as I dragged up Grimmjow's pants from the floor near me and tossed them over my shoulder I heard the Sexta scoff.

"The fuck you think? Just 'cos you're incapable of sex because you lack a dick doesn't mean you shouldn't have some idea of what's happening here, Ulquiorra."

He called back, his hakama already on and him crawling over me. He walked through the room, hunting for his clothes. A shirt, mine, caught me in the face as he threw it back with unneeded force. I dragged it on as Ulquiorra didn't respond to the insult, as usual.

"Aizen-sama did not permit you to have sexual intercourse with the prisoner, Grimmjow."

I heard Ulquiorra drone on, catching my hakama as they were thrown hard-ball at me. Grimmjow scoffed at Ulquiorra again.

"Like I give a fuck. And Aizen doesn't give a fuck either, as long as neither one of 'em dies."

I watched Grimmjow walk off, pushing past Ulquiorra as he did. The emerald eyes returned to me as I finished setting up my clothes, ignoring the lack of underwear. Neither Grimmjow or I could find them, so I was commando and Grimmjow was free-balling until we could get new pairs, respectively. I didn't have to wait long as Ulquiorra tossed a new set of clothes onto the couch, staring at me still.

"Woman. You are within dangerous territory; cease this futile attempt at a relationship with him at this moment."

I blew him off, stretching and realizing that I was hungry as fuck.

"Yeah, yeah. I know that he's gonna be the one to kill me at some point in time. Not like I'll survive Hueco Mundo anyway."

It was a dismissive note, and Ulquiorra seemed satisfied that I knew of the danger I was in. He turned away from me, reaching through the open doorway and dragging a food tray inside.

"You are underfed. Eat."

Was all he said before leaving, slamming the door behind him as per his normal douchebaggery routine. I waited a minute, before falling on the tray like a wild animal and eating like a damn horse. After a minute of eating, I heard the door open and didn't even have to look up to know who it was.

"Fuck, you eat like a pig."

Grimmjow stated in an obviously inflammatory manner. I ignored him, instead continuing to eat for a moment. A few moments after I began ignoring him, a hand grabbed me by the hair and threw me to the ground. Thank fucking God I'd swallowed beforehand, or I'd probably have choked and died. He was glaring down on me.

"What the fuck did I say about fucking ignoring me."

I chilled a moment at the tone, before shaking it off.

"Fine, _Jeagerjaques-sama_. I'll be good. Now can I fucking-"

We were interrupted by the pressing of new reiatsus, five of them. Five very familiar reiatsus. I sat up like a bolt as Grimmjow straightened up, and we both stared off in the direction they had arrived from.

"It's them." I said, breathlessly. Looking at Grimmjow, I saw him smiling like a homicidal maniac. He was grinning, grinning madly with glee at the idea of returning to the feral pursuit of his favorite prey.

"Shinigami."

**((Well, we know who showed up. From what I've planned out, things are going to speed up a whole lot from this point on and there's going to be a huge jump in the drama level. But at least in this chapter, Ulquiorra feeds the starving Inju and Grimmjow gives his own heartfelt agreement between Inju and himself. Don' tell me that wasn't just touching to you guys. :D ))**


	18. Fight of a Lifetime

I remember that it'd been what felt like a day or two since Grimmjow visited last and we found that a rescue team was indeed coming. From what reiatsu I could feel, a five-man group of Ichigo, Abarai, Chad, Rukia and that fucking asshole Ishida came to save Orihime. They thought I was a traitor still. Fuck, they might even be coming to save Orihime and kill me if they get the chance. Who fucking knew?

I was sitting on my couch, waiting for something to happen. Wondering, how was this suicide mission of theirs going to end? They were five moderately powerful beings going against a fortress of what I thought to be thousands of Arrancar, ten of those being insanely powerful and all-too-eager to destroy the invading party. They were fucked. Why didn't they bring more goddamn people? Doesn't Soul Society exist for that exact goddamn reason? To kill hollows and beat Aizen. Probably. I was beginning to doubt that they had a chance.

Grimmjow was lazing next to me, and I knew that he was just itching to fight Ichigo again. He had been bitching and moaning about how Kurosaki was a useless little shit, and how he was going to rip the shinigami apart. I listened to him, half because I had to and half because the mental image of Grimmjow killing Kurosaki was strangely exciting. I liked it. And that was bad, because Orihime loved Ichigo. So wouldn't that have made me a terrible friend? I don't know. I just kept listening to the boasts and the bravado.

This time however, he was strangely quiet as we both felt Ichigo nearing.

"Hey, Grimmjow. I wanna see Orihime, she's probably going out of her mind by now."

I nudged him, and he more or less shoved back.

"Why the hell would I want to get up."

He asked, in a 'question that's not a question' sort of way. Translation: 'Hell no I'm not getting up. Give me one good reason why I should.'

I shoved back, not hard enough to piss him off but enough to get his attention.

"Because we're bored, and you get to tell Orihime what you're gonna do to Ichigo and watch her cry or some shit."

What the fuck was wrong with me?! The hell kind of friend says that sort of shit? But it seemed to placate Grimmjow, because he was up on his feet and I caught up behind him. What the hell was wrong with me lately, I still didn't know. Recently, my thoughts had turned more and more violent and cruel as time went on, and the memories I had of Karakura town were becoming twisted and filled with loathing towards what now functioned as either my rescue team or my execution brigade.

Whatever it was, it was freaking me out. But we were already in the hallway, and stopping at Orihime's door. Ulquiorra's reiatsu was there as well, although it was fluctuating a bit oddly. Maybe something was annoying him again; Orihime might be able to annoy the emobitch better than I could. Grimmjow opened the door, and we both stared inside.

I'm never gonna forget what I saw in that room, and sometimes, I really fucking wish I could.

Ulquiorra and Orihime, on the couch, unclothed, and in the middle of sex. At the end of sex, actually, because Grimmjow and I walked in just in time to hear Orihime shout Ulquiorra's name and cling to him tightly in climax as Ulquiorra visibly stiffened, half from the orgasm and half from seeing Grimmjow and I staring at them with shocked and most likely priceless looks on our faces. Orihime was worse off, however, because when she stared at us, at ME, she had both a look of pure horror and yet was still obviously in a high amount of pleasure.

'OHFUCKOHFUCKOHFUCKULQUIORRAANDORHIMEAREFUCKINGWHATTHEHELL' ran through my mind, all mixed up from the pure shock of what I'd just witnessed. We all just sort of stayed still and silent for a moment, before I heard Grimmjow next to me just howling with laughter.

"Whaddya know, Ulquiorra has a dick after all!! And he's fucking his bitch too!!"

He roared, as Ulquiorra moved quickly to grab his boxers and Orihime snatched up the cover from the back of her couch. She looked like she was about to cry, before stopping and thinking on Grimmjow's statement.

"…Too?"

I saw her look between Grimmjow and I, linking two and two together and gasping.

"You, and HIM?"

She sounded derisive, as if being with Grimmjow made me less of a friend or something. Or maybe that was just my ears making it so. Because I immediately became highly defensive, pointing at Ulquiorra.

"What about you and HIM??"

I snapped, and I heard Grimmjow start laughing harder.

"Shut the fuck up!"

I hissed at him, and a bala whizzed past my head. He was still laughing, much less raucously from my outburst, but the warning was incredibly clear. I turned away from the room and began marching back to my room, now both horrified and pissed off. When I got back to my room, I was doubly pissed off that I couldn't shut the door, and so all manner of passing Arrancar got to watch me stomp around, the couch and then head into my bathroom for a shower of pissiness. The shower was incredibly, incredibly scaldingly hot because I just wanted to burn the image out of my head. Of course, scalding yourself in the shower usually doesn't work quite that well and so when I left the bathroom and threw myself on the couch to either sleep or brood, I was now burnt and still pissed off. Why was I so pissed though? Orihime said one word and I was ready to kill something. Now I KNEW that something was wrong with me, but I didn't know what it could be.

I must have fallen asleep, because when I woke up it felt like the Las Noches version of nighttime. I could just feel it nowadays. What the fuck.

Something was changed. I could now feel the nuances of time in Hueco Mundo. I was pissed off easier than normal, and when I did get pissed off it lasted so much longer. Even my friendship with Orihime couldn't stop it any longer. When she had said that one inflection on that one word, I had...I had wanted to hurt her. Maybe kill her.

Something was very wrong with me, and it was getting worse by the moment.

It was right about then that Grimmjow waltzed through my door, holding a large white sack looking thing. I was still pissed, and wasn't going to ask when he grabbed my wrist tightly.

"Come on, we're going." He snapped, and began to drag me towards the door. I attempted to twist out of his grip, only to see him not budge a bit in his hold or slow at all in his pace.

"Whatever the fuck you're doing, I don't wanna be a goddamn part of it!"

At that exclamation, he gripped my wrist even tighter and I yelped as the bones in my wrist broke.

"Where we're going, you'll want to be there so just shut the fuck up."

I caught sight of his eyes as he looked sideways to me, and my blood turned to ice at the look in them. He wanted blood, and if I wasn't careful he was going to have mine. My wrist was broken and I was in terrible pain, but gritted by teeth and attempted to push it out of my mind. A bit difficult since he was gripping that same wrist, but whatever. He most likely wasn't going to let go if I asked nicely.

"You're too fucking slow. Speed up." Grimmjow ordered, and he began to walk faster than I did. I had to jog to keep up, and we stopped at some doorway.

When I stared down, I lost my breath.

"Kurosaki!"

The orange-haired shinigami was laying bloodied down before us, and he looked dead. A little green-haired kid was more or less wailing, and if I hadn't been a bitch I would have felt bad for it. I didn't have long to think about it though, as Grimmjow resumed the dragging. He flipped the white sack inside out and Orihime fell out, landing in front of Ichigo. When she saw him, she stopped and I could tell she was tearing up.

"Kurosaki..." She said quietly, and I blinked at the loss of '-kun' at the end of his name. Oh, right. She was fucking Ulquiorra.

"Grimmjow." A cold monotone voice spoke behind us, and the four of us (including the kid) turned around to regard Ulquiorra himself.

"What are you doing, attempting to heal the thing I defeated."

Silence answered him, and I saw him look to Orihime. She hung her head. The Cuatra returned his gaze to Grimmjow, stepping forward.

"What you do is not my problem. That woman is under my jurisdiction though. Return her." He began walking forward, towards us. Grimmjow still didn't answer.

"Nothing to say in return?" Ulquiorra asked Grimmjow. The Sexta's response was absolutely golden.

"Blow me."

I smirked at the answer, and I think that Grimmjow saw it in his peripheral vision and grinned. And from that point on, Orihime, the green haired kid and I watched the fight between them. I saw them fight and I saw that Grimmjow was on the losing end of a fair fight. In the end though, Grimmjow apparently put Ulquiorra in something that would teleport him away, because he disappeared. I did see, though, that as he did disappear he looked to Orihime. She was staring back, and I even noticed that she was reaching for him. And he was gone, leaving us alone.

Grimmjow turned to look at Ichigo again, and I was just about to kill that screaming kid.

"Heal 'im." He ordered, and Orhime jumped a bit.

"No." She stated, quietly. The green haired kid was still crying, and Grimmjow threatened to kill it. I kind of wanted to kill it, just to shut it up. But Orihime rejected Grimmjow's order. About saving Ichigo's life?

Grimmjow let go of my wrist, stepping forward to grab Orihime's throat.

"What the fuck did you say?" He growled. Even I could tell that he was getting ready to throttle her, and she kept her expression stern.

"No. You're just going to hurt him again."

Grimmjow gritted his teeth, and I watched him tighten his grip on her throat.

"Bitch!"

I should help. I knew it, I knew I should be telling him to stop, or trying to at least make him stop. But I didn't. I couldn't. I wanted to watch, and so stood there dumbly and just watched. Right about until Ichigo's hand came down on Grimmjow's arm, getting all of our attentions.

"Stop it." He ordered, and I watched the next few moments play out like a movie. Orihime attempted to reason with Ichigo, and he replied with a curt 'Heal me.' She looked hurt, and I got pissed off at Ichigo.

"Hey asshole, she's looking out for you! You could at LEAST say 'I'm glad you're okay' or some shit! Even a fuckin' hello!" I snapped at him, and he half-glared at me as Orihime did as he said and began to heal him.

"You shut up. I don't want to get a manners lecture from **you**." He half-sighed, and I glared harder. My broken wrist was at my side, limp and still throbbing. I did shut up though, so that I wouldn't go over there and kill him myself. He was healed, and stood up straight against Grimmjow. I knew it was coming, and subconsciously moved closer to Grimmjow. Ichigo noticed this, I know he did, because of that stare I was getting. The 'what the hell' stare. Grimmjow just shoved me back, and I staggered a few steps back to Orihime. She began to heal me but I waved it off, ignoring her protests in my current state, a transfixed stare at the two men and the fight about to happen.

I was worried for Grimmjow. Why? I had no idea. I thought of the possibility of his death, and it frightened me. I wanted him to live. Ichigo? I...guess I wanted him to live. Great, now I'm allying myself with the hollows instead of my own kind. Whatever, I just knew that I had belonged more in Hueco Mundo than I had in the World of the Living. My tendency for violence? It wasn't out of the normal in the Hollow world. And there were people here that could curb me when I got too carried away. It was like a giant gang of it's own, except instead of punks like me that think they're tough shit, it was full of soul-devouring creatures that actually WERE tough shit.

"Be careful." I said quietly, and the only ones that could hear me would be the green-haired kid and Orihime. Right about then, the fight of a lifetime began. And in this fight, I would go past a point that there was no return from.

* * *

**((Well, we're starting up some major events that've been planned out. Pretty soon, a major twist is going to come up and happen so be ready for that. More than one major twist, actually. Hooray for the twisties! :D))**


	19. A Crow with Heart Shaped Wings

I watched, silent as the grave I should probably have been in long ago as the entire scene played out before me. Right now, Ichigo was healed and comforting that green haired kid that I already didn't like, and then moving to comfort Orihime. I was standing more or less back a bit, in between the side with Ichigo and Orihime and the side with Grimmjow. I was holding my wrist a bit, eyes cast downward and only daring to chance looks at the others here and there. I could see that Grimmjow was doing the same, because on one occasion we glanced at the same time and then scoffed, looking away. Inoue healed his burnt arm, inflicted by Ichigo's reiatsu I presumed, as well, and Ichigo turned from Orihime to look at me.

"Why aren't you letting her heal you?" He asked, bluntly, most likely having seen me wince when I had to move my wrist and otherwise let it hang limp at my side. I scoffed, shaking my head a bit and unconsciously putting a foot behind me, as if I were preparing to lunge forward.

"Because I don't fuckin' want her to. I'm fine and you work her enough, getting your stupid ass blown to smithereens on a regular basis." I folded my arms, ignoring how it ached to move my wrist at all. Ichigo narrowed his eyes a bit, and before I knew it he had grabbed me by the shirt and dragged me over to Orihime.

"Heal her, because she's being stupid." He told Orihime, and I twisted in his grip. Even being around him enraged me, made me fearful and vicious. And him touching me amplified it beyond what I could handle.

"Let me the fuck go!!" I roared, twisting around and slamming a knee into his stomach. Unexpectedly, I added reiatsu previously inaccessible to the blow and I heard Orihime gasp. He let go of me and I jumped backwards, clearing a foot or two to put much-needed distance between us.

"Don't…fucking…touch…me…ever…again." I said, between pants. That burst of reiatsu took a good bit out of me and I needed to catch my breath. Ichigo seemed unhurt except for what I presumed to be a small burn of some sort, something Inoue jumped to begin healing up. He was staring at me oddly, as if I were some sort of creature that he hadn't ever seen before and I noticed that Grimmjow was staring as well. Apparently, he gave up on attempting to get me to cooperate and turned back to Grimmjow.

"Let's take this somewhere else." Ichigo offered, giving a glance back to Orihime, the green haired kid and I. Grimmjow responded with a 'Sure' and they went up into the air somehow, casting up dust and debris upon the three of us. The fight was about to begin, and I had seriously never anticipated anything more than this fight. Ichigo went all weird and changed clothes magically, and his sword shrank. But I knew that he was even more powerful, his reiatsu increased exponentially. Grimmjow was on some sort of red cylindrical tower, and all I caught was he saying something before their reiatsus crashed, and it began.

"Itsygo…" I heard a small voice repeating, and tore myself away from the two men to look down on the green haired kid. It had a mark across its face and what looked like a hollow's mask on top of its head, and I still couldn't tell its gender. Orihime moved and began to comfort it on whether Ichigo would win or not. I listened, and felt disdain welling up in my chest.

Ichigo winning…I'm sure that Orihime and green-haired kid wanted nothing else. But if Ichigo won, that meant that Grimmjow would have to lose…I didn't want Grimmjow to lose. I wanted him to win. That meant that I wanted Ichigo to lose, and Grimmjow to probably kill Ichigo. That meant that Orihime and I were on different sides.

"If Kurosaki-kun says he's going to win, he definitely will!" Orihime said to the kid, and before I knew it I scoffed aloud.

"You don't know that, and you just saw your Ichigo get his ass toasted by Ulquiorra. I bet he was just like this right before Ulquiorra dusted him." I stated aloud, probably louder than I had to. Orihime fell silent and the kid began to yell at me.

"Don't say dings like dat! Itsygo's gonna win, even if you don't want him to!" It yelled at me, and my blood ran cold. The kid read my thoughts. I turned to it, staring down quite oddly. A moderately creepy stare, my eyes wide and unblinking while I kept a straight face and stared at the kid.

"Shut the fuck up. You don't know that for certain." I stated quite plainly, before Orihime chimed in as well.

"You don't know that he's going to lose either, Inju! Don't say it as if you just know!" She said loudly to me, before I turned and began to stare at her.

"And you don't know that he's gonna win either, so you can shove your optimistic bullshit!" I half-shouted, and they both recoiled. I couldn't be stopped, and so I continued in the mirthful digging of my own grave.

"Maybe I'm not like you, Orihime. Maybe we're too different to be on the same side. I'm surprised you're even on Ichigo's side anymore, from the look on your face when you were under Ulquiorra!" I spat, and she gasped.

"D-don't say that! You've…you've changed, Inju! You're not the same anymore!" She exclaimed, and I fell silent at the heavy weight on my heart. I didn't speak, as the reiatsus clashed in the distance, and she continued after a moment.

"It was Grimmjow, wasn't it? He made you like this." She said, quietly, and my temper flared. I slammed my fist onto a large chunk of debris as large as I was tall, and the reiatsu I let out in the punch reverberated within as the pillar crumbled beneath my fist. My wrist screamed at the force, but I didn't care and it spurred me on even more.

"Maybe he was, goddammit! Maybe he reminded me of what a hopeless idiot you are for thinking that everything's gonna turn out okay! It's not going to always turn out okay, dammit! Sometimes, it doesn't turn out okay! Sometimes, the bad guys win and the good guys get shot down in alleyways, because they were too fucking retarded!" I shouted at her, tapping into a completely new feeling. An amount of rage, of hatred, of fear that I'd never felt before. I wanted to kill her. I really, really wanted to just rip Orihime Inoue apart right then.

I want to devour her

The urge ripped through me, the thought was my entire being for a split second, before I returned to my senses and gasped aloud at the feeling.

'I want to devour Orihime. I want to, I want to so damn badly.' I thought, gritting my teeth and closing my eyes. She was running to me as I seemed to be in pain, and I waved my hand in the air wildly in her direction.

"Don't you fucking touch me. Get the fuck away from me Orihime, because I want to kill you and I don't know why." I growled, quiet but dangerous. She stopped, pulling back the hand that had been reaching for me.

"I-Inju…" She began, taking another step forward.

"Get the fuck away from me!!" I roared, moving from my position to glare at her full-force, pressing my back against the ruined debris like a cornered animal. As soon as we made eye contact she gasped again, stepping back a good three or four paces.

"Y…your eyes…" She said, staring wide-eyed at me. I straightened up, closing my eyes a moment before beginning again.

"I know what's wrong with me now…I know what's happening to me." I said quietly, clenching my hand into a fist over where I knew it would be. She didn't try and get any closer, and neither did the green haired kid. I just turned and watched the fight, before seeing that I missed a lot and Ichigo was right in front of us, apparently falling or something. I looked past him, down at the figure far below us in the sands and saw that Grimmjow was aiming at us. Aiming something bright blue, and what appeared to be some sort of cero. I felt my heart jump, knowing that he saw me and that he knew I in the crossfire.

"Grimmjow, wait!" Ichigo shouted out to him, before I saw Grimmjow's blue cero thing shoot out at us. We would all be killed, no doubt about it.

The cero ripped through the air at us and collided with Ichigo, and I was sure that we would die. But instead, I opened my eyes after a moment and gazed upon Ichigo with wonder as he deflected the blow, now hanging in the air before us. After a moment of silence, he turned and looked at us. Wearing a hollow mask.  
"I know it's going to be hard for you two to listen." He said to Orihime and I, and his voice held an odd quality. As if it was coming from a far-off place, warping the sound of it slightly.

"Relax." He reassured us, before turning to look upon Grimmjow. I heard the Sexta begin to laugh, a high-pitched chorus that chilled me to the core. Even over the distance, it carried to us and I could feel myself heavier at the knowledge of what was about to happen. What else he said I couldn't hear, but I saw him pull his Zanpakuto free and I knew some heavy shit was about to go down. He held the blade horizontal, and laid his other hand over it as if he were making claws to rip the blade apart. The sand and dust around him began to move, spin about him in the dry air and I heard his words clear as day.

"Grind, Pantera!"

The dust cycloned around him, obscuring him from my view and I knew that he had gone into his Resurrection, the ultimate form a hollow possessed. Shit was real now.

I knew there was a huge chance that Ichigo would lose the fight, would be killed. What then? What would happen to us if the rescue team were killed while here? I had felt Chad's reiatsu snap away a while ago, disappearing to near nil. That meant that anyone could be dead by now, if the giant went down. My wrist ached under me as I moved closer to Orihime begrudgingly at Ichigo's order, and when I attempted to argue the look he cast me with his yellow-black eyes destroyed any sort of argument I might be about to make.

"Inoue, put up your Santen Kesshun and don't take it down, not even for a second." He had ordered, and we had all moved together behind Orihime's shield. Why the hell she hadn't put it up when Grimmjow was firing that super cero, I wouldn't be able to fathom.

We all watched as the cyclone of dust and sand cleared around Grimmjow, a crouched figure visible deep within the cloud. My heart stopped when I laid eyes on him.

His hair had grown. That was the first thing I noticed, as it was half as long as he was and hung in a thick blue mane. I could see that his mask had moved to his forehead, and that he had fangs like a wild animal. It looked like he had armor over everything except the area on his chest where the long scar from his bout with Ichigo was, and from what I could see, his hands were black and viciously clawed. His feet were now feline, pawed like a cat's. And the last thing I noticed was that he had a long tail.

'How the hell can I see in all this detail?' I asked myself vapidly, but the question quickly faded as Grimmjow roared. It was more of a wild scream, and the debris was cast upon Ichigo, Orihime and the green haired kid Ichigo had called Nel. Ichigo said something about the scream, though I was too entranced with Grimmjow's new form to register what the words meant. He was powerful, wild, untamed. And the intent to kill Ichigo just rolled off of him, the rawness of his being catching me wordless.

This new form was everything that I had fallen in love with about Grimmjow. I loved it and I was afraid of it; I was afraid of him for how he would cast a super cero at Ichigo even when I was standing behind the target. But at that same time, I knew that no matter if he had claimed me or not, I was still second to the fight and altogether, expendable. It didn't bother me; I had known that this would be the truth of being around him, being with him. I would have to accept the possibility of death, and I had. If I died, so be it and God help whoever killed me if I didn't die at Grimmjow's hand. I was a devoted idiot, a veritable slave to his wants and whims.

"Demonic angel. Angelic demon. A crow with heart-shaped wings."

I said it quietly, this small mantra, while staring down at him. And I saw him staring back. His eyes were the clearest, most intense blue I had ever seen. They pierced me as true as any blade could, and for that moment in time that we shared a gaze I was completely helpless under it. I wanted to tell him about what I felt, about how I…how I loved him. How I would die for him, and how I wanted him to be the one to kill me if at all possible. It was stupid to think like this and he would probably tell me how much of a goddamn idiot I was for saying it but I still wanted to.

Our glances broke and Ichigo shunpoed off to clash with Grimmjow, and the mere meeting of their reiatsus was nearly enough to knock me off my feet. Orihime and this Nel were watching me, quietly, and I knew what was on Orihime's mind.

"He's not my prince charming. He's not my knight in shining armor. He's much different from that, because those things don't exist." I spoke, watching the two men battle. Orihime remained silent, listening to me.

"He's not my own personal heroin, either. He's far from a drug, though just as dangerous. Grimmjow's not my heroin. He's my cyanide."

I didn't know if she wanted to know this, but I knew that it had to be said. Orihime finally spoke then, quiet so as not to have me fly off the handle again.

"If he's so poisonous to you, then why do you stay with him?" She asked me, looking now and then to the fight as well. I laughed a bit, nowhere near Grimmjow's intensity but holding a small amount of that in my low laughter. I turned my eyes to Orihime, and I saw her shrink from my gaze. My eyes were normal, I could tell from how she wasn't afraid of my gaze any longer, but she was still afraid of what I might do to her. It hurt me, but I deserved it.

"Because sometimes, love isn't sweet and happy, Orihime. Sometimes, that's not what a person needs from love. Grimmjow and I are animals. Wild, lawless, vicious animals that can't stay within the rules. What I feel for him can't be sappy and sweet, because we're not sappy and sweet. What I feel is a draw to his power, to that raw and dangerous killing intent and how he wouldn't hesitate to kill me if it came to either victory or myself. It's what I love about him." I told her, and I smiled when I said it. Smiled a sort of odd smile, as if I was both sad and happy at the same time. I was happy that I would be able to have him, but I was also really sad that it would split Orihime and I apart.

"He's like…like an angel from Hell. Or a devil from Paradise." I finally said, and my vision was blurring as I spoke and as I watched them battle across the wide expanse of Hueco Mundo. I tried to ignore it, before laughing aloud at the irony of it all.

"What kind of sick joke is this? I finally find the only friend I've ever had, and then I have to pick between her and the only lover I've ever had." I laughed, and I laughed and I laughed and I cried and I laughed and I cried again, unable to stop myself and unwilling to let myself just cry. I was talking to no one in particular now, unable to stop my mindless babbling.

"Is it retribution? For who I've killed? What I've done? Is this what I'm paid back with? Well, I deserve every moment of it. I deserve every goddamn second of whatever span of eternity that I have remembering it." I stated aloud, and I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked over at Orihime, as she looked at me sadly.

"Inju…I'm sorry." She apologized, and I stopped in my vain attempt to hide my crying with forced, hollow laughter. I just quieted, and I smiled to her even as my vision remained blurred with tears.

"Don't be. You're too sweet and I'm too bitter, Orihime. You belong in the human world, because you belong with humans. Me…I can't live with humans anymore, not after this. I've found a world that's just as insane as I am, and I've found someone that I…someone that I can't leave behind." I finished, shaking my head and wiping away at my tears until I could see again, and watch the fight. Ichigo was losing, and I felt my heart betray me and leap with something like joy whenever Grimmjow landed a particularly crushing blow on Ichigo.

_Kill him kill him kill him kill him kill him kill him kill him kill him_

It went through my mind like an insane death chant, echoing along the sound of my heartbeat that in my ears, sounded like a war drum.

I knew Orihime could tell what I wanted to happen, and I knew what she wanted to happen. We may be friends, but I wanted Ichigo to lose and die, and she wanted Grimmjow to lose and die. One of us would be walking away with tragedy holding our hands, and it would kill the woman with the victor on her side.

* * *

**((First part of the Ichigo Grimmjow battle done, and you guys get a huge plot twist next chapter! Hooray!))**


	20. Death

I watched them. I watched them so closely, not wanting to miss a single second. That Nel kid started yelling at Orihime to support Ichigo because Ichigo was fighting for her, and so she screamed to Ichigo. Told him not to die. He didn't have to win, didn't have to try his hardest. But he wasn't allowed to get hurt anymore. I listened, now stuck on whether or not to yell to Grimmjow.

I didn't have long to think about it.

Grimmjow went in to impale Ichigo on his clawed hand, and Ichigo caught it. He said something to Grimmjow, before I saw him slash deep into his opponent. My heart stopped.

No, no no no this wasn't happening. Grimmjow couldn't LOSE. Well, I knew he could but not to Ichigo. If Ichigo won and Grimmjow died, he'd undoubtedly drag me back to the Living World no matter what I said, leave me in lockdown at the Urahara Shoten for what would possibly be the rest of my life, not being at Grimmjow's side. Or at his feet, I was usually the one that got controlled and batted around.

My throat unfroze and I shouted to him, shouted with all the strength I had.

"Don't you die and leave me alone, dammit!!" I screamed, wanting some sort of movement from the Sexta. Ichigo looked up, confused at why I was screaming such a thing and Grimmjow took the chance to lunge forward and stab his hand into Ichigo's stomach. Orihime gasped beside me, as they restarted their conflict. They both leaped back into the air, and Grimmjow seemed to rip large beams of blue light from his claws. I still couldn't hear what he said, but I could read his lips.

"De…sga…rron. Desgarron?" I repeated, as he launched a set of the blades at Ichigo. The shinigami attempted to deflect the blow, being pushed backwards at an incredible rate of speed. Grimmjow laughed harshly, speaking again. He was louder, so I could hear him a bit. He announced being the king. I watched Ichigo break the blades, and Grimmjow launched the other set. Ichigo ran his blade through them, traveling forward towards Grimmjow. I could feel the cold pit in my stomach grow colder as Ichigo came right up to Grimmjow. The teal-haired Espada's wide eyes lowered a bit, as if he were accepting his defeat, and he looked for a split second at me. Ichigo impaled him on his sword, and time froze for me.

"G…Grimmjow…" I remember saying softly, in shock. Orihime laid a hand on my shoulder lightly, and I remember swatting it off as if it were some disgusting insect. Ichigo lowered Grimmjow down to the ground, laying him there gently.

I remember Orihime shouting something as I was moving again, heading towards the edge of the tower. A bright orange shield snapped in front of me, as she attempted to hold me back with it. I felt so much rage that she would betray me like this; she should know what it was like! And here she was, attempting to keep me back from him. As my rage increased tenfold, my reiatsu did as well. I slammed my palm against the shield and watched it shatter at my fingertips; with nothing to support me and unable to cease my forward motion I fell from the tower, hurtling towards the ground at Orihime's shout. But almost on instinct did I reach backwards, finding the length of the tower at my back and pulling myself upright with it. The sand wasn't exactly the softest cushion; it bit at my hands and knees as I fell upon it, but I was able to stagger onto my feet and begin to sprint towards a dumbfounded Ichigo, who had been in the process of walking back to Orihime and Nel and was halfway between Grimmjow and I.

"Inju?" I barely heard him say, and I was already running past him before he caught my hand and attempted to hold me still by it as I tried to rip away.

"Inju, what the hell are you doing? Why are you running at **him**??" He added inflection to the last word, and I glared back over my shoulder at him.

"Fucking let me go, you ass! I'm going to him, because he needs me!" I shouted, not caring that I had just revealed to him that there was a relationship between Grimmjow and I. He didn't get it a moment, before I saw his eyes widen as he stared in shock at me. He understood why I was running. He knew. And his grip slipped as he stared off at me in shock, running back to a now-standing Grimmjow. When he had gotten to his feet I didn't know, but he wasn't in his release form anymore and was cut to hell. I ran to him, reaching outwards as if to seize him and hold him close to me, even if we never embraced aside from during sex. I had realized during the fight that I needed him now, and so I ran to him with tears in my eyes. Like a moron.

Funny thing, Fate. For some reason, he took a step back, probably in surprise at my reaction as I lunged forward, wanting to clear the two or three feet between us. I had been reaching for him, almost close enough to touch.

"Grimm-"

I didn't even see the crescent-shaped blade coming the large curved edge shot between Grimmjow and I. Only a second later did the rest of the blade hit, slamming right into the right side of me, into my ribcage. That span of time when I was hit and when I landed in the sand ten feet away is gone now, but I distinctly remember seeing the blue sky and the sun, and not touching the ground. I remember tasting something hot and metallic on my tongue.

And I remember hearing Orihime scream. It went black after that.

* * *

My eyes were still closed, and I openly groaned. It felt like I'd been put through a wringer, or stuffed in a washing machine turned on the highest speed. My body felt…heavy. Really heavy, and my chest ached like hell.

"Fuck…I can't believe I survived that…" I mumbled, sitting up with difficulty and opening my eyes. I was sitting on the white sands. I glanced down, seeing a body at my feet.

Mine.

I remember sitting there, as if in a daze. Too shocked to do anything but stare at my own corpse, lying prostrate on the white sands and dying the area around it a ruby red. I was nearly cut in half.

"Wh…ah…" I tried to make speech, but none came out as I saw myself lying facedown in the sands, and I instantly knew what had come about. I didn't, at that point in time, note that I didn't have a chain attaching me to my body.

Dear God, I'm dead.

"Damn bitch got in the way." I heard someone drawl from across the distance, and turned to stare in the purest state of shock at Nnoitra Jiruga, holding the crescent-shaped Zanpakuto over his shoulder. The damn thing still had my blood on it, dripping from the half-moon blade onto the white sands. It ran down the length of the blade and onto his hand, which he seemed to be ignoring. He was staring slightly pissed and very much sickly amused at my expression. Grimmjow was already down; apparently, he had been hit as well.

"Ah…" I attempted to make words, and failed. Looking to my corpse once again, I crawled over to it and moved it onto it's back. Ugh, the skin only held me together on my left side, and all my organs were spilling out with the movement of being rolled over. I saw my eyes, open and shocked. I was shaken to the core at the sight of my own dead body. Reaching forward, I slid my hands over my own eyes and closed the lids.

"You're the one that Grimmjow was fucking, weren't you?" I heard the voice right at my back, and looked up in terror at Nnoitra's grin. Sonidoing bastard. He was fuckin' huge, all the better to loom down over me with. Before I could do a thing, I heard Ichigo and Orihime. Looking past Nnoitra, I saw Ichigo with his Zanpakuto ready to fight Jiruga off. Orihime was on ground level, and I saw a pretty-faced blond one-eyed Arrancar grasp her from behind, holding her still. Jiruga turned, deflecting a blow from Ichigo and throwing the shinigami backwards five or ten feet with pure force. He threw his crescent Zanpakuto forward, launching it at Ichigo. Kurosaki barely blocked it, and I actually saw how powerful Nnoitra Jiruga really was.

"Hey kid, let me show you something." Nnoitra spoke to Ichigo, and from where I was kneeling I could see the left side of his face. He opened his mouth and held his (long, scary long) tongue out to show a large tattooed 5 on it. Ichigo and I froze, him in shock and I in horror. Ichigo hadn't known of Nnoitra. He didn't know how fucked up the Quinta really was.

"That Espada you just barely defeated? I'm a rank above him." The tall skinny Espada grinned, throwing his blade again at Ichigo after pulling his tongue back in his mouth. This time Ichigo didn't block the curved blade correctly and it cut deep into his leg, crippling his evasive abilities.

_'This is bad, this is beyond bad, this is catastrophic, this is-'_ I was thinking in a rush, before realizing that Nnoitra was watching me intently. All of a sudden, he pulled back his Zanpakuto and dropped it like a hammer, cutting off my old body's head and picking it up by the hair, grinning at me as he held it up for me to stare at. I did. Do you know how mentally scarring it is to see someone cut your head off, and actually be there to stare at it? It's quite the definition of mindfuckery.

"There we go; now I don't have to worry about you getting back into that body if our precious Pet-sama were to try and heal it." He narrated, tossing the (my) head over a large sand dune and out of view before he sonidoed away and the pretty blond Arrancar (whom I assumed to be Nnoitra's Fraccion) released his Zanpakuto, turning into a huge pig-like thing. Nnoitra himself was holding Orihime across from me, his fingers shoved in her mouth to keep her quiet. It enraged me, how he was treating her, but before I could worry about Orihime or how Ichigo was having his bones crushed by the Fraccion, I was attempting to get back on my feet and stagger over to Grimmjow. It was hard to move, but the more I did the easier it became and I was able to run to Grimmjow lying on the ground.

"Grimmjow…" I said quietly, looking over his wounded figure. Damn Ichigo. Damn Nnoitra. Grimmjow opened his eyes and looked up at me, and I saw them focus on the hole in my chest, and something on my head. He diverted his gaze from it quickly, looking back to my face.

"You fuckin' idiot. Got yourself killed." He rasped, and I closed my eyes.

"Don't give me shit; Jiruga's the twatwaffle that did it to me anyway." I sighed, rubbing the bridge of my nose in a tired sort of way. I was too far out of it to freak out about being dead yet; that would probably happen later on.  
"You're gonna be here forever." Grimmjow stated, and I smirked a bit.

"Yeah, I'm aware. I don't belong with them anyway; not after how much Las Noches has changed about me." I stated, leaning forward and laying my head on his chest. He didn't shove me off like I expected him to, just laid in the sand quietly with me.

"You're gonna turn into a hollow, probably." He told me, and I nodded. I didn't notice how he seemed to be holding back when he said that.

"I was expecting that." I mumbled, hearing another scream from Ichigo accompanied by what sounded like the snapping of bones. Grimmjow looked over, turning his head sideways and resting his chin on my forehead.

"You gonna die, Grimmjow?" I asked him truthfully, laying my head on his shoulder. He was quiet for a while, before I heard him speak again.

"Fuck no." He told me, and I smiled against his neck. It was an oddly serene moment, between me and him as Ichigo had his bones snapped and Orihime was in torment over it. Some part of me found a special sort of vindication towards Orihime and Ichigo during this moment, and I enjoyed it greatly. I felt that they had done this to Grimmjow, so they deserved what was happening to them. I knew what was happening, and I was (surprisingly) perfectly okay with it.

"Good. I don't want to be alone with Jiruga." I said, and felt a hand on my back. I held onto Grimmjow tighter in a protective embrace, as his hand lied on my back soothingly.

"I love you." I remember finally telling him, opening my eyes with a warm smile.

Only to see that both of Grimmjow's hands were lying on the sand, next to him.

"Touching. Didn't know Grimmjow's whore had such a kink for fucked-up hollows." Nnoitra spoke behind me, and the comforting hand on my back gripped the back of my Las Noches uniform and dragged me off of Grimmjow, up into the air. He was sneering in my face, and I caught sight of Ichigo battered and broken in the sand and the pig Fraccion pinning both him and Orihime down in the sand.

"Pet-sama seemed pretty upset when I killed your ass. She seems to think you're important." He told me, and I spat at him. It missed and he was instantly pissed off, and instead of my uniform front, where he had moved to hold me from, I felt his long spidery fingers close around my windpipe.

"You little bitch; you've got no fuckin' idea who you're spittin' at! You don't even have the slightest idea what the fuck you even are!" He half-shouted in my face, and my pupils must have shrunk at what he said.

"How…did you know…" I asked in a choked voice, my hands gripping his and attempting to pull them away enough for me to breathe. He grinned at that point in time, a sickening feeling developing in the pit of my stomach because of it.

"Guess Aizen didn't tell you_ or_ Grimmjow, then? Figures." He began, tightening his grip as I attempted to work my fingers under his for breath.

"Aizen was tellin' us about you, particularly. You're some kind of freak of nature; you've got the hatred of a hollow, and that abundance of anger's affected your soul when it developed spiritual powers. He said that you developed powers like Pet-sama's over there, except instead of reversing shit, you just destroy it completely, including all it's reishi. You kill things forever." He narrated, as I hung limply in his grip.

"Anyway, it turns out that your soul wasn't able to handle these freaky-ass powers you developed by hangin' around Pet-sama and the shinigami twat over there. Your soul reacted with all the negative hollow-like emotions, and it began to degrade. You're rottin' out from the inside. You've turned into a hollow, from the point you died just a minute ago. Real odd, how you humans work. He was talkin' about you being 'one of a kind' or some shit."

My heart stopped…wait, I couldn't feel my heartbeat. I didn't hear it, couldn't feel my own pulse, which should be through the goddamn roof by now. Nnoitra flipped his Zanpakuto to show me my reflection in the blade, and I saw that what looked like a large white headband was on the top of my skull, with two white horns going down from the sides to curve along my ears and end in sharp points at my jawbone. The remnants of a hollow's mask. I looked like a demon.

Aizen knew. He knew what was happening to me, and he probably knew how to fix it too. How to fix it before it got this far, anyway. That's why he had me put on so many shows for the Espada. Just so Szayel could watch me progress from human to the new hybrid of human-to-Arrancar. Humans developing spiritual powers were rare enough, I'd heard from Urahara; Aizen abducted me just to watch me turn into one of his lackeys. And he probably allowed me to be with Grimmjow just to make me form a strong tie to Las Noches, to never want to leave.

It all worked out so perfectly for him. I played right into his hands.

"Bet you're feeling pretty pissed, eh? Want to kill something for the littlest reason? Maybe some_one_?" Nnoitra asked me, leaning right in my face. I didn't respond, remembering how I had wanted to kill Orihime earlier. How often I had felt insurmountable rage and bloodlust. And I was always so hungry lately.

"Eh, Aizen said he expects you've been this pissy for a long time. Says that there's a good chance your soul began degradation into a hollow's while you were alive, but you would've stayed human if you'd have stayed the fuck away from the twatwaffle shinigami over there." Nnoitra shook me in the direction of Ichigo, who I looked over to see was absolutely decimated. I felt…I didn't feel bad for him at all. I didn't. Why. Why shouldn't I?

I noticed then that Nnoitra was still in my face, staring at me intently. He looked from me to Grimmjow, to Orihime and then to Ichigo. Before I knew it, the side of his Zanpakuto collided with the back of my head and I saw stars, before I saw nothing at all.

* * *

**((Next chapter = incredibly dark and depressing. Be ready for that, because I've got this new idea that came up this morning and it's just...horrible. Be expecting horribleness next chapter. And I'd like to know if those plot twists were stupid, or if you could see them coming. I've been whoring them for like...ever.**

**-Story Whoring-**

**Where Angels Fear to Tread. AU with the entire cast in Karakura City, where certain people who died with an intense hatred or despair tied to one person become supernatural creatures that hunt those that made them feel that way, as the targets run from the ghosts of their past and the city itself, all trying to destroy them.**

**Just more story whoring. Next chapter, guys!))**


	21. Coffee with Salt

**((Alright, I think I should probably have a real warning here. Since it's going to be a bleak, scarring and hate-inducing chapter. And since there's never been a chapter in this story quite like this one. Expect detailed rape. And a lot of guilt and self-hate later.))**

* * *

I remember waking up to not being able to breathe that well.

"Fuck..." I groaned softly, finding that I really couldn't breathe that well from something wound tightly around my chest and compressing my lungs. I opened my eyes to the pale blue sky of the Hueco Mundo desert, before sitting up as best I could and finding out that I couldn't sit up at all. Looking down at what was compressing me, I saw that it was the chain of Nnoitra's Zanpakuto wound around my chest and lower torso, pinning my arms behind me painfully. I flexed and attempted to throw it off; no dice, the links were harder than steel, and they didn't even budge.

_'Something's wrong, something's really wrong here-'_ I thought in a slowly growing state of panic, well-masked panic. A single voice froze me solid, and I stared up in masked terror at the owner.

"Awake yet, kid?" Nnoitra Jiruga spoke, sitting on the stump of a white crystalline Hueco Mundo tree a few feet away. His Zanpakuto was sitting behind me, and I scooted back enough to use the blade as something to sit up against.

"What do you want with me, Jiruga." I asked him guardedly, pulling my legs up to my torso defensively. He watched me, before starting to smile in a way that I really, really didn't like. "Oh, just thought you'd like to talk." He told me, standing. I watched him walk towards me with a purposeful step, and I gritted my teeth. He continued on, a certain sort of tone in his voice that I couldn't place.

"Ya know, ya really pissed me off back there, kid." He told me, smiling in something beyond mere sadistic pleasure. It was something even worse than that.

"Does talking involve me having to be tied up?" I snarled, already panicking and ignoring his statement. Those horns making up my version of a hollow mask were in my peripheral vision, and I tried to ignore them as he kneeled down in front of me. Before I could move, he seized me by the hair and dragged me forward to where our faces were mere inches from one another.

"I said that you might wanna talk. I never said what I wanted to do." Nnoitra spoke with a certain sort of sadistic purr in his voice, and the color drained from my face at the realization of what he wanted to do with me. I attempted to get free of his grip, attempted to kick him off of me. He caught my foot as if it were nothing to him, which it really wasn't at all. He was the Quinta, after all; I was just some ki...just some Arrancar. All my flailing was apparently pissing him off, because I was dragged away from his Zanpakuto giving me support and he fit his knees between mine, pushing them apart and leaving me spreading my legs in an obscene sort of way. Even if I was still wearing clothes, it was humiliating and it was really pissing me off, and also not helping the terror I was already carrying.

"You're a kinky bitch, aren't you?" He asked rhetorically, still wearing a smile showing how amused he was at my situation. Fuck him being pissed off back there; he didn't look pissed at all.

"Let me go, dammit!" I attempted to shout, but it only came out in a terrified rasp, bordering on an even more pathetic whimper. Nnoitra grinned at that rasp, now holding one of my legs apart with his hand while he used his leg to press on my chest, compressing my lungs even further. I couldn't breathe at all now, and whatever sad attempts I might make at it were cut off as his other hand closed over my mouth and nose.

"I don't feel like it." He answered my terrified order, watching me slowly start to panic even further. I felt the terror of suffocation come down on me fully, the painful aching of my lungs as I came ever closer to passing out again. Right as my vision was fading, he moved his leg and his hand to let me breathe, and I sucked in a huge breath. The feeling of oxygen suddenly coming back into my system was beyond euphoric, and I couldn't help but groan at the sensation.

"You like it rough, don't you bitch?" I heard him again, and then I felt another link of chain wrap around my throat. He had slightly unwound the chain holding my arms to my side and put that as a sort of noose, and with the slightest tug it started that same feeling of barely being able to breathe all over again, and I knew he was taking great pleasure in watching me do this. He kept it tight, and then I felt his reiatsu grow stronger around me and press down on my body, a sensation completely different from suffocation. It was even more terrifying. Why it was even more terrifying, was because some part of me actually extremely enjoyed the sensation of him everywhere at once, pressing in at my being.

"Beg me to stop." He answered my unspoken question of how to make him quit, unspoken mostly because I couldn't fucking breathe enough to form the question. I still couldn't fucking breathe enough to beg, and that was the last goddamn thing I was going to do for Nnoitra. And since he automatically knew what I was wanting to ask, he must do this with a lot of women around Las Noches; use his huge amount of reiatsu to constrict his victims until they were begging him to stop, as he was waiting for me to do now. I felt him lessen the constriction on my throat, giving me enough air to speak.

"Fuck you." I growled at him, and instantly his reiatsu grew exponentially; I would've cried out if he hadn't started to suffocate me with the chain again. At that same time, he grabbed my face roughly and picked my head up a small bit, before slamming it down on the hard rock beneath me. It would've cracked the skull of a normal human being; I wasn't normal anymore. I could take the abuse, but my vision was swimming from the blow.

"Wrong fucking answer." He told me in a low voice, and I knew I was pissing him off with not crumbling like most others did. He knew more about Arrancar bodies than I did, and from what I could guess, was using those 'Pesquisa' things or whatever the Arrancar had to detect reiatsu to drive me to near madness by overloading them and giving me this horrible sensation that he was_ everywhere._ I loathed it, and the equally horrible feeling of not having enough oxygen was only adding onto it.

"Gonna keep pissin' me off?" Nnoitra asked me, and I slowly shook my head. He wasn't letting up with the chain, and I knew that he wouldn't until I gave in. And since I was near passing out again, it would be prudent to at least survive; he wouldn't think twice about strangling me to death, probably wouldn't think twice about strangling me to death and then fucking my corpse, so I had to be careful. He let up on the chain and I sucked in another breath, the euphoric feeling even stronger than before. A long sigh substituted another groan, and I opened my eyes to look up at him.

"Please stop, Nnoitra." I said calmly, in a sort of quiet and seething way, before he jerked the chain tight again and I choked.

"That sure as fuck ain't begging. Do it right." Nnoitra growled, and then let the chain loose again. I took another deep breath, before setting pride aside and speaking again.

"I'm begging you to stop...Jiruga-_sama_." I spoke plaintively, and ignored the feeling of my pride being shanked in the eye with the words. I needed to live, survive this and then help Grimmjow. And Orihime. Fuck, I keep forgetting her. That was really fucking bad, but I was dredged from my thoughts as I heard Nnoitra laugh. It was a sharp, highly amused barking sort of laugh at my expense, and I gritted my teeth slightly at the sound.

"Jiruga-sama, that's a nice touch. I could get used to this shit." He said slickly, before he jerked forward and his lips were on mine in a vicious sort of kiss. I half-yelped, half wanted to kill him at that moment in time. But with the writhing I was trying to do, he jerked the chain tight in a quick snapping motion, kind of like one of those leashes that snap at the push of a button and choke the dog into submission. He was moving, switching to pinning my legs apart with his knees again and hooking his fingers at the hinges of my jaw, pressing hard to force me to open my mouth. I locked my jaws in an attempt to subvert what he was trying, but it didn't work because he just pressed harder and harder until I couldn't resist anymore and opened my mouth. Quickly, he proceeded to pretty much fuck my mouth with his long, disgusting tongue in a series of vicious forced kisses that I was hating him all the way through. I hated him, but the fucker was turning my body against me. Fuck you, body. He grabbed my horns and used them to jerk my head back for a better angle, and I winced at the unfamiliar feeling of having the portion of a hollow's mask that I held being pulled at. It hurt, a hell of a lot.

The thoughts of pain at having a mask section pulled and jerked on dropped from my main concerns as soon as he pressed himself against me more fully, and I felt a hard length through our clothes. **Through our fucking clothes.** These were Arrancar uniforms, with the thick material created to withstand the Hueco Mundo environment. This small action brought a whole new reality to the situation, the purest feeling of raw terror that I had ever felt in Hueco Mundo. The only feeling comparable was when I had two mangled hands and Grimmjow Jeagerjaques was holding a cero to my face in the battlefield in Karakura Town; that was the only feeling that could compare to this. I wanted to get him off of me at that exact moment more than ever, and yet the action of me trying to buck him off of me didn't work in the slightest and spurred him on, pressing his waist even harder against mine, grinding roughly. I may have been an Arrancar then, but that didn't make me any stronger against Nnoitra.

I became aware of him breaking the kiss enough to laugh at me, a low sickly amused laugh at bringing the haughty bitch POW in Las Noches down to where he thought she belonged. Under him, apparently. He pressed harder and I truly whimpered this time, closing my eyes before he gave a harsh jerk to my horns, snapping me back to where I currently was.

"Hey bitch, don't you fucking ignore me. You're not blocking me out; you're staying right here to feel it all, goddammit." Nnoitra snapped, and before I could say a thing against him he grabbed the hakama portion of my uniform and ripped it off, tossing it aside. I remember finally gaining the nerve to scream at him, loud and sharp and filled with rage, terror, and so much fucking hate.

"I'll fucking kill you, motherfucker!!" I screeched in an inhumane tone, right in his face. The thing I remember most is how he heard the tone, and instead of being pissed like I expected him to be, he grinned further.

"Good," he told me while jerking down the front of his own hakama and forcing himself inside of me, "You remember that when I'm fucking yer' brains out."

I tried to scream then; he had 'Ohmygawd strongest Hierro' or some shit like that, so he probably didn't feel as much pain as I did. The chain of his Zanpakuto jerked taut again and whatever noise I was about to make went silent in a choked whimper, the distinct feeling of a lack of oxygen driving me mad. I felt him push further, until he was completely within me and I distinctly heard him semi-sigh. He was still a moment before laughing, still leaning over me and I could feel his hot breath on my face.

"Too bad, seems yer' friends aren't as happy about this as I am." Nnoitra told me, moving his grip from my horns to my short silky black hair, dragging my head back forcefully to look at the upside-down shapes of Ichigo, Orihime and worst of all, Grimmjow. Orihime and Ichigo were staring in disbelief, they too trapped in the sand by Nnoitra's Fraccion and unable to say anything that I could hear over the distance between us. Nnoitra laughed again, as my eyes met Grimmjow's. He was too shocked to say anything, too injured to make a move to stop what Nnoitra was doing to me. I think I saw a glimmer of how disbelieving he was at the situation, and I closed my eyes in deep shame at him seeing his expression. Nnoitra jerked my head back to face him, and my eyes opened again at the distinct pain in my scalp from the action.

"Don't look like that; you've gone from Sexta to Quinta. Tons of hollow sluts'd be _dying_ to be where you are right now." He told me quietly, almost lovingly brushing a thumb over my bottom lip. It meant nothing, I never inferred it to be anything more than a way to get to me even further into the depths of shame that I felt as he began to move. Bastard didn't even start out slow; he just started, and I bet he liked the painful burn from the action.

_I_ liked the painful burn. And I hated how I liked it.

Nnoitra fucked me hard. He fucked me so hard that the sand strewn across the rock below us chafed my skin painfully, and I distinctly saw blood spotting the sand in my peripheral vision. I didn't much consider it though; his reiatsu poured inside me with every thrust, and I just couldn't describe how...how euphoric it felt. I tried to remember how much I hated this man fucking me; he was my goddamn rapist! He was fucking raping me right now! I couldn't keep it in mind though, as my thoughts went blank at the sheer pleasure washing over me. I heard the sounds I was making, the groans and the cries of ecstasy. I was really goddamn loud, and if I could have been able to process coherent thoughts at that moment, I would have realized how embarrassing it was to make these noises. Nnoitra loved it though; he loved giving those hard thrusts when I got too quiet, just so I would scream and he could enjoy whatever expression my friends and the one I loved were wearing at the noises.

"From how it sounds, Grimmjow's not as good a fuck as you thought, hm? Get the impression nobody's really fucked you before." I heard him whisper above me, running his tongue along my jawbone tantalizingly. He himself was groaning at times, matching my own. I couldn't respond in the least. The chains around my chest cut into my skin, and he dragged his nails over my bare stomach and chest to leave long scratches and trails of blood, ushering forth groans of pain on my part. I loved it, loved how it hurt. I quickly found out that it was also insanely pleasurable to feel him run his tongue around my new hollow hole, that it was an all-new sensation that Nnoitra was well-versed in taking advantage of.

It was a sort of euphoria that I just couldn't get with Grimmjow. I was worried with him during sex, worried that it wasn't good enough for him because Grimmjow never made a sound. That he was going off to find some other bitch with a better fuck, and leave me alone. With Nnoitra though, I didn't have to worry because the combination of sex and lack of oxygen blanked out my mind of any thoughts at all. I didn't have to be anything at all during that brief encounter. I could just feel.

Nnoitra would kiss me now and then, when he apparently felt the need to. Maybe it was to stroke his ego when I would kiss him back, without qualms. Maybe it was to inwardly laugh at Inju, the slut who was enjoying being raped in front of her lover and friends. Who the fuck knows, I'm not Nnoitra.

He still had a grip on my hair as I came closer and closer to climax, opening my eyes and meeting his singular eye. We stared on at each other, an eternity in that brief moment. I saw that intense hatred towards me in that moment, and I attempted to reciprocate that fully in my own stare. It was that brief moment of clarity when I could remember what he was doing, and I mouthed the words I knew he could read.

I fucking hate you.

I didn't scream when that brief span of thoughtless serenity ended in climax; it was only Nnoitra's reiatsu pervading my system that kept me conscious during the orgasm strengthened by lack of oxygen. I barely even noticed the heat of his release as well inside of me, just laid there and let it all happen. He leaned over me again, moving in for a last vicious, tearing kiss that left my lips bruised and the taste of blood in my mouth. And I heard him speak.

"I fucking hate you too, you slut." He said simply, flicking his tongue along my cheek as he sat up and pulled out. He used what was left of my uniform to clean himself up, before pulling his Zanpakuto and chain up and off of me, cutting up my skin as he did. I was still too far gone to do anything at all other than lay there on the sandy rock, watching him fix his outfit and spit on me before walking off, heading down towards Ichigo and Orihime. And Grimmjow.

I was beaten, bleeding, fucked and owned. And I was exhausted beyond belief, and also still dealing with whatever sort of damage him slamming my head against the rock had done. I couldn't stay awake any longer, and finally blacked out again.

If this was what hollows had to live with, then just kill me now.

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**((Told you it'd be dark; be expecting another twist either next chapter or the one after it.))**


	22. Doped and Chained

**((Alright, canon-divergence chapter. Trust me, it works out in the end.))**

* * *

I remember waking up and everything on me hurting like a motherfucker. Really, it did.

"…Fuck." The memories of what happened whenever came back, and I supported myself on my elbows, looking up and around. I was weak and the sandy rock beneath me was bloody, which was probably bad. To a large level. I was on my stomach, and reaching over for what was left of my Arrancar uniform. The top was still sort of intact, and I tore the material and wrapped it around my bleeding chest like bandages, before a large wave of reiatsu caught my attention and nearly flattened me. Sitting up a bit, I looked off and saw the ruined body of that pretty Fraccion of Nnoitra's, and then I saw Jiruga himself standing off with a guy that I'd never seen before. A huge guy with spiky hair was going toe to toe with the Quinta, and he was getting just as cut up as Jiruga was.

Nnoitra Jiruga is bleeding?

I was summarily amazed that the 'strongest Hierro EVAR' didn't stand up against this guy. From the description I'd gotten back in Karakura town from Urahara, this guy looked like a shinigami, and was probably a Captain considering that white haori he was wearing. And they were both fighting like berserkers, with Nnoitra going into what I assumed to be his Resurrection. He had horns, six or so arms and some more scythe things. But more than anything else, I was entranced by them trading blows and fully enjoying the battle, reveling in the act of cutting one another to shreds.

A strange, terrifying truth came to me as I watched the Quinta fight. I realized that he and Grimmjow were nearly identical in the exact things that had attracted me to the Sexta in the very first place. Nnoitra was obviously violent, wild in his own vicious way, and so very full of rage. And in that terror, an even worse thought came to me.

What if I had met Nnoitra Jiruga before I met Grimmjow Jeagerjaques? What if I had spent time around the Quinta instead of the Sexta?

The answer was simple: I'm shallow enough to fall in love over common traits, instead of any real and tangible chemistry. I'm easy. I'm cheap.

I'm just like Mom.

"Fuck!!" I remember finding the strength to shout, slamming my fist onto the sharp glass-like sand. I happened to look back at the fight before me, the meeting of berserkers wielding cataclysmic power, and it was all over. I watched Nnoitra Jiruga, Quinta Espada fall. He hit the sand and didn't move, and I stared on in shock. Somebody killed him. Somebody was ABLE to kill him. My reiatsu must have jumped without me knowing it, because soon after that, the victor with the spiked hair turned and stared right in my direction, right at me. All at once, a rush of new frenzied reiatsus headed straight at us, and I could distantly hear people shouting about an attack or something like that. I heard Aizen's name. The reiatsus were pressing on my wounded body and I couldn't stay conscious any longer, it was too much on my form. I passed out again, hitting the sharp sand and the hard rock once more.

* * *

I could sense two things when I awoke. Darkness and the scent of antiseptic. I resisted the urge to sit up immediately and find out where I was, which was NOT the sands of Hueco Mundo. So many different reiatsus here, none of which I could recognize. But I heard voices, the soft and gentle voice of a woman and another woman's voice, though the second was commanding and somewhat loud.

"I don't see why we can't have that thing chained in my Division." The commanding voice sounded harshly, and the second answered gently. "I'm sure you would like to keep her within your division, Captain. I'm also quite sure that if we would like to keep her alive, then treating those wounds before interrogation would be best." The gentle voice was firm and wise, and I immediately sat straight up at 'interrogation'.

"What?!" I half-shouted, before instantly cringing at the pain that rushed through what I quickly remembered to be wounds inflicted by a one-eyed psychopath with a rape kink. I heard footsteps and slowly opened my eyes again, looking to two figures outside of my…cell. I was in a prison cell, and came to realize that my wrists were bound together with shackles that kept me from moving my arms too far apart. I had on a collar too, I soon recognized with great ire, and it ate away all of my reiatsu.

"It's awake." I heard the commanding woman growl, and glanced up to see a short black-haired woman with an odd hairstyle, an outfit like Ichigo's and a white Captain's haori. She was appraising me with obvious disdain, and I glared back just as hard as she was staring at me. "It looks harmless." She finally spoke to the other woman, a taller and kinder looking woman with an even odder hairstyle consisting of a braid that went under her chin and down her front. She was also wearing the shinigami outfit and the haori. I snarled at the short what I presumed to be a Captain, sitting up from the thin and uncomfortable mat that made up my bed.

"Fuck off. If you weren't retarded, then you'd see the collar sucking up all my reiatsu or whatever the hell you call it." I spat, instantly seeing that I set off a trigger. The short Captain flared her reiatsu and it slammed down on me, as I lost my breath. Quickly did the other woman raise her own reiatsu a bit to garner the attention of her fellow Captain, who ceased her own fucking with me. I coughed harshly, feeling my wounds sting.

"Captain Soifon, you may do as you wish when she is under your care. At the moment, she is under mine." The older woman warned gently, and the bitch I know knew as Captain Soifon scoffed. She instead looked closer at me as I glared back up at her, before turning on her heel and marching off. I heard the other Captain sigh a bit, before looking to me with a stern but not harsh expression.

"What is your name?" She asked me, and I scoffed before countering. "What's your name and where the fuck am I." I growled, and she sighed a bit before answering. "You are a prisoner of Seireitei, currently within the Fourth Division for treatment of your injuries. You are within my division. My name is Retsu Unohana, and I am the Captain of this division." As she answered me, I gave her what she asked for.

"Inju Zetsumei." I said bluntly, now taking my own state into account. Someone had dressed me in a white kosode, and under it I could see bandages. A lot of bandages. And above them, I could very barely see the outline of where a chain had cut into my flesh. Damn Jiruga. Hope he rots.

"You are a prisoner here. It would be prudent for you to cooperate, unless you would rather spend your time recuperating in Captain Soifon's Division. You would have no rest there, I can assure that." She told me, before walking off. I sat up a bit further to watch her go, waving a bit to try and get this Unohana's attention again.

"Hey! What happened? How did I get here, from Hueco Mundo? Were any others brought back for interrogation as well?" I asked urgently, and she glanced back to me.

"No, none others were brought back." The woman told me calmly, only answering one of my many questions, before leaving just as quietly. I stared down dully at my chained wrists.

"Grimmjow…" I said it quietly, clenching my hands into fists. Something had happened after I passed out, and it had been huge. I wanted to know urgently, but apparently here I was worth less than dirt. Realizing the irony of the situation, I laughed a bit. "A POW, by both the good guys and the bad guys! Guess I'm a bad guy now then…great…" I sighed the end part, closing my eyes again. I was never able to apologize to Grimmjow, and if they killed me here, I would never be able.

"…Just because I moved to Karakura Town. All because I moved to Karakura Town." I reminded myself, before realizing how tired I was. Exhausted, really. Leaning back down, I lied on the mat and closed my eyes, unable to keep awake any longer.

My mind was too fuzzy to truly recognize the situation for what it was, probably because I was doped to the gills on whatever the hell they sedated me with. But I would truly come to recognize the position when I sobered up a bit more.


	23. Moving on Down

The next few days were spent recuperating, resting up in this Fourth Division shit. Nobody told me anything, and everyone other than Unohana was afraid or just hesitant to touch me. Didn't blame 'em, since I was a hollow freak and all by now. And they had good reason too, since I was absolutely snapping at anyone that so much as looked at me funny. That hollow feeling was growing deeper and more acidic every day, my hatred for these people I didn't even know was growing as well. And that didn't even cover the new and deep hunger that pervaded my system every waking moment, aching and painful. At first I just ate whatever they gave me, ate it voraciously and complained that I was always hungry. Then Unohana informed me about hollows always feeling the hunger and desire to eat souls, and that was what I was feeling. The shinigami looked sort of surprised that I didn't know some things about hollows that any developed Arrancar would know, having evolved from Adjuchas and Gillian and all that shit.

They came to me after god knows how long, deciding to brief me since I was bitchin' and moaning to everyone around, demanding answers and getting scary when I got none. Unohana herself came into my cell, and I was somewhat sane for her. Woman treated me with more respect than I deserved, and that wasn't much. "Inju." She said my name to get my attention, and I sat up straight. "You guys finally gonna tell me what the hell is going on 'round here? How did I get here from Hueco Mundo, what happened? What happened to Orihime, and Ichigo and everybody?" I demanded, and she took a deep breath before beginning.

"A group of Captains was sent into Hueco Mundo to give aid to the rescue group already there, for Inoue Orihime. You, Inju Zetsumei, were reported to Seireitei as being traitor and fleeing to Aizen's kingdom after the second invasion by Arrancar, with the blue-haired Espada." Unohana told me, and I resisted the urge to snap at her. "Grimmjow Jeagerjaquez." I corrected stiffly, and she went on. "When we arrived, Captain Zaraki accosted the black-haired tall Espada-" she went on. "Nnoitra Jiruga." I corrected again, and she gave me a straight stare that told me to be quiet when she was talking. I complied, and she went on. "-You were found nude and heavily injured, lying in the sand a good distance away. Instead of what we had anticipated, Aizen did not move where we had thought and instead moved his remaining Arrancar on an all-out attack towards us. We fled, took you into custody and left. You are here now, and only two others were brought back as prisoners." Unohana finished, and I immediately began talking.

"Earlier, you told me that I was the only one! Who are the others?" I asked after the loud and annoyed statement of her dishonesty. She closed her eyes a moment. "I did not have permission to inform you of our shinigami duties. I still do not have the go-ahead to tell you of the other two, though I see no harm in it if you remain quiet about it." It was a sort of way to tell me, 'Hey, I'll tell you, but you can't raise hell about it'. I nodded solemnly, and she recited the names.

"Captain Kurotsuchi has brought back Szayel Aporro Grantz for testing on the Arrancar body, and Nnoitra Jiruga was retrieved and also healed. He himself is being stored in a different area for his danger level. You are stored in Fourth, because you haven't got control over your powers yet, that is obvious." Unohana finished, and I sat up straighter after naturally slouching at the fact that Jiruga lived. Just like that bastard not to die when he fucking needs to. She looked at me pointedly, and began again with regular doctor things.

"You were treated for lacerations from what appeared to be a chain, bite wounds, claw marks, blunt force head trauma and some bruising on your throat and chest from forceful asphyxia. And you were-" I knew what she was going to say, and so finished it for her. "Rape, I already know. Hell, I remember it pretty damn well considerin' having my head slammed against a rock with crushing force. Nothing special, happens all the time in Hueco Mundo, from my understanding." I spoke dismissively, and she looked slightly surprised at it. "You're not too worried about it, are you?" The Captain queried, and I shrugged. "Oh, I'm probably just in emotional shock or something. I'll have a good breakdown later on, but right now I'm fine." I told her, and she sighed a bit. Moving to stand, I reached up and caught the sleeve of her haori. She looked back to me and I spoke with the most serious of tones.

"Where is Inoue Orihime, Ichigo Kurosaki, or any of the other people come to rescue Orihime?" I asked seriously, and Unohana pulled her sleeve free. "It is not my place to tell you who is here and who is not. Ichigo Kurosaki is here, I will tell you, and will come brief you when he feels up to it." She told me vaguely, walking out of the cell. The doors closed behind her by the guards kept there to watch me, and I called out to her. "Feels up to it? Why wouldn't he?" I called, but she was already gone. The guard hissed at me to get back, and I spat some sort of insult I can't recall before complying. Something was wrong, there was a huge secret about our arrival that I wasn't told of. That pissed me off even more, and I felt the hollow hole within me burn like fire.

* * *

Over time, I became even more violent and standoffish. I was a vicious monster growing more and more feral. Not to my surprise, one day long after the beginning of my internment here, two familiar faces arrived at my cell. I stared at them with confusion in my eyes. They looked familiar, but I couldn't remember meeting them. I shrugged, before standing up and scoffing. "The fuck you doing here." I growled, now used to the low and gritty tone in my voice. It was one that I had heard often from Nnoitra and Grimmjow, a particular disdain for near everything. Pure hatred for those shinigami around me with their delicious smelling souls, and disappointment in damn near everything. They both stared at me with disdain that I returned fully, a hateful stare full of killing intent.

"Hollow, 'yer moving to a new division because they can't deal with you here." A bald guy told me stiffly, and I stood. "Oh, a new one? Joy, I get to meet more of you fuckers." I sneered, moving to the door of my cell and waiting. The chain marks had been deep, left a permanent outline along my throat and in spots on my chest. This pretty feathered guy closed his eyes, and when he spoke I could just hear the disgust in his light voice. "What a crude thing, just as you were when you were human. I wouldn't know how, but you seem even worse now." I gave him a weird look. "I never met you fuckers before." I told them, before walking off. They were in confused silence, before probably deciding to look into it later. The door opened and I walked out, my chained wrists in front of me as usual. The reiatsu-sealing collar was getting kind of itchy over time, but I didn't say anything about it. Each of them took one side of me, both having their Zanpakutos with them. Both with a hand near them just in case I needed to be put down. I didn't bother giving them trouble aside from the absolutely acidic remarks I made whenever I could. We got glares hotter than hell, and I returned them as hotly as they were given. Eventually we made it to another division, one filled with sparring scarred up men that looked like they wanted to tear me apart. I didn't shrink even a bit from them, stood just as tall and proud as the two next to me did as we headed down to their cells. Not nearly as nice, and it looked like I'd be here awhile yet. We three stopped when a sudden burst of reiatsu popped up behind us, and something latched itself onto my shoulder. I heard what sounded like a kid shouting out something, bald guy yelling, a bunch of other noises. I glanced over at who was sitting on my shoulder and I was face-to-face with a pink haired little girl, staring right in my face. Instantly, I made a loud sort of surprised noise and she jumped off, standing in front of me and staring curiously. "You're an Arrancar thing, aren't you?" She asked me in a cute voice, and I blinked before nodding. No attitude, because I was really too surprised to muster up attitude. "Y-yeah. Name's…Inju." She began laughing at that, and I snapped. "What?!" I growled at her, and she stopped laughing, but was still smiling. "You're name's Ribbon!" She laughed, and I growled in a sighing sort of way. I wanted to kick the kid, and was actually seriously thinking about it when a shadow loomed over me. I glanced back to be standing right in front of that spiky-haired psychopath that kicked Jiruga's ass. Now he had an eye patch on and was staring. Just staring.

"Kenny! The prisoner's here, and her name's Ribbon!" The girl cheered, and without me being able to track it, jumped up on my shoulder and spring boarded herself onto his huge one. "So, 'yer the bitch causin' trouble." The guy stated in a gravelly tone, and I turned around and crossed my shackled arms as well as I could, attempting to look tough like normal. "Yeah, so I am. An' 'yer the one that kicked Jiruga's ass." I added, and he just stared some more. "Yeah. You know 'im?" He sort-of-not-really-interested asked, and I shrugged. "Yeah, guy was a royal prick. Had some crazy kinks too." I rubbed my neck offhandedly, over the marks I knew would be there. He seemed to see and recognize them, but wasn't too interested. Staring up, I felt another big burst of difficulty coming on, and just started in.

"So 'yer the fucker gonna house me? Good luck, 'cos I'm a real bitch." I spat, and he didn't even look pissed or just disinterested. The crazy bastard started fucking grinning. "Gonna give me trouble? Good, I like a good fight." He grinned insanely, bloodlust radiating from the shinigami Captain as he gave me a good shove. I staggered back, into my new dark and cold cell. The door slammed and the four shinigami began to leave, the nameless Captain leading them.

"Wait!" I shouted, moving to the bars. He glanced over his shoulder, staring at me and I could see he was still bored. "Mm?" He semi-mumbled in disinterest, and I grinned at him. "What's your name? You're the only fucker 'round here I wanna know the name of." I stated, and he grinned again. "Kenpachi Zaraki. Let's spar sometime." He told me, and I knew by the look he had that 'spar' meant 'death match'. Fuck to the yes.

"Oh fuck yes. None 'a these bitches 'round here are worth my goddamn time." I smirked at the bald one and the feathered guy, both looking sincerely pissed off at the statement. Zaraki was already turning, walking off and the two guys followed after him, leaving me to grin at the idea of getting a good fight. I felt so much more hot-blooded as a hollow, and the never-ending hunger only drove me further towards being a true monster. Now I knew how Nnoitra and Grimmjow felt all the time, because I was turning into the exact same thing.

Holy shit, did it feel great.

* * *

**((Attention: I lose my laptop over the summer, so updates will slow down unless I can get my paws on my sister's laptop. Thanks guys.))**


	24. Ugly Pony

I was sitting in Eleventh for awhile. Don't know how long, but I just sat there, gave shinigami that got near as much shit as I could, generally made myself an ass. I had damn fun being an ass, too. That guy with the feathers would stare at me oddly sometimes, as if he were expecting me to know something that I didn't. I'd spit at his feet and he'd leave, looking disgusted with me. After god knows how long I sat in that cell, bored outta my fucking mind, I remember that I got a particular visitor. He was a shinigami, that I could tell from his outfit, and wielded a huge Zanpakuto.

"Hey Inju." He greeted me, and I stared confused at him for a minute. "The fuck're you?" I asked lazily, sitting down in my cell. He stared at me oddly, as if expecting me to grin and shout, 'Just kidding!'. I didn't, and he blinked before speaking again. "Inju...don't tell me you don't remember me?" He motioned towards himself, and I noticed the bright orange hair. Freak. I shook my head, staring at him warily, and he spoke again. "Ichigo Kurosaki, the guy that saved your ass." Ichigo half-growled, and it came back to me. Wait...when had I lost it? I really couldn't remember for awhile there. Didn't think about it for now, while I spoke again. "Ah, slipped my hollow mind." I growled, thumbing the mask horns with a glare. He groaned, taking a moment to get ready before speaking to me again. I cut in before he could.

"Alright Kurosaki, tell me what's gone down. Who's dead, because Unohana told me to ask you, and she wouldn't tell me a damn thing." I half asked, half ordered of him, and Ichigo scowled. Soon though, I saw that scowl melt into a new expression I'd never seen on Kurosaki Ichigo; he looked genuinely tired. Exasperated, and I now saw that he didn't look as if he'd slept at all for a few days. Waiting for him, I remained silent and attentive as Ichigo took a deep breath and left his eyes closed as he spoke.

"We don't have Orihime. She...she wouldn't leave." Ichigo stated, and his voice sounded so broken. I could only imagine how bad it felt, if I hadn't been a bitch hollow that had been kidnapped and forgotten about by him and everyone else. "What? How?" I asked, leaning up against my bars and staring him down. I'd have thought Orihime wouldn't want anything other than being rescued...wait. I think I knew this.

"She wanted to stay with Ulquiorra, didn't she?" I finally spoke, and Ichigo slammed his fist on the floor. "Why?! We came to save her from that hellhole, and she wouldn't leave! We nearly had her at the Gargantua, before she jerked away from me and ran back. We looked back, and she ran right into...that thing's arms." He finished quietly, utterly confused. I myself was a bit confused; she obviously loved Ulquiorra enough to stay in Hueco Mundo with him, but I knew she'd never last there. Too sweet, and Ulquiorra Cifer couldn't always be there to protect her when someone like Nnoitra came along. "She loves him." I told Ichigo, and he snapped at me. "The hell do you know?? What if it was hypnotism, something else??" He snapped, and I snapped right back. "'Cuz I saw them fucking on the couch!" I spat, and something akin to a very scarce amount of regret grew in me at the look on his face.

Too bad it was overshadowed by that sick sort of amusement that can only come from torture and ruination.

"What? They were...Ulquiorra and Orihime..." Ichigo mumbled out, and something else overcame me entirely. A pure feeling of sadistic enjoyment that I couldn't save myself from. "That's right, Kurosaki. Ya really should've seen her face when Grimmjow and I opened the door and walked in on 'em. She was having such a good time, and we walked in right on him and her cummin' hard." I grinned, unable to stop myself but completely able to ignore that little bit of me that was saying 'SHUT THE FUCK UP'. "You're lying." Ichigo told me, still obviously shocked that someone like Ulquiorra and someone like Orihime could be in love, or maybe he was shocked by the mental image of him on top of her. "Too bad I'm not. I myself fell for Grimmjow, honestly. You know that he's real good in bed? Well, not _technically_ in bed, more like he's real good up against a wall or on the couch-" I went on, and he cut me off.

"Shut the hell up!" Ichigo shouted at me, and I stopped enough to listen to him. "I don't know when the hell you turned into...this, but I don't want to be anywhere near you. You should be thanking me for saving you, not telling me about...them! And you, and him!" Ichigo snapped, and I heard a note of desperation in his voice. He'd been through a lot, way too much for a fifteen year old kid to have to deal with. Oh, Grimmjow would've had a field day with this. I snarled, leaning right up against the bars to speak lowly.

"I turned into this when Jiruga knocked me on my ass and made me a hollow, you dipshit. And thank you? That's real funny! 'Cuz I remember you weren't here to save me at all, were you? You all thought I went traitor, you were here to save Orihime. Too bad your princess found a new prince; that just leaves you the ugly pony in a bunch of stallions, don't it? Plus, I remember some rape that I could've used a hand in getting out of. So don't fucking tell me I owe you, 'cuz I don't." I finished in a hiss, leaning back and away from him. Ichigo wordlessly stood, marching out of the area as I leaned back and thought on how much of a bitch I was now. Orihime wouldn't have wanted a thing to do with me after this; maybe it was good she was with Ulquiorra.

One thing was bothering me though. Now that I tried to remember past my death, I could only see faces and hear bits of voices. Didn't remember...

I can't remember. Can't remember my time alive. Fuck.


	25. Escape

I was dragged roughly through the hallways by Baldy and Feathers, snarling at them and spewing whatever insult I could even think of. "The fuck we going, you candy asses?" I barked, and Baldy gave me a good shake. "Shaddap." He barked, and I went quiet for knowing that none of the shit I could say would work. I was dragged on, to a set of large doors, where I was shoved in roughly on the ground. Two other figures kneeled on the ground beside me, and I immediately bristled as I recognized the one right next to me.

"Aw fuck, it's you." I growled, and the tall man beside me gave me an eerie, baby-killing grin. "That's right, looked like you lived after all. Nice scars, bitch." Nnoitra Jiruga smirked at me, and I spat at him this time. It didn't make it on his fucking face, like I wanted. Just on the ground. "Fuck off, twat. Your goddamn fault I'm in this shit, anyway." I muttered, leaning forward to see a disheveled Szayel Aporro Grantz. He looked so fucking worn, and needle marks traced up his arms to follow veins colored black from dehydration. How he looked, I felt almost happy that I was just some random Arrancar and not an Espada. Nnoitra himself looked worse for wear, as he grinned I saw that he was missing a couple teeth, and his lip was split. Jiruga had some shallow cuts, probably from someone unable to penetrate his heirro any further than that. I was still weak from Nnoitra's attack earlier on, having gotten beaten to shit. Still weak, still sore. Still bruised. And still pretty goddamn dizzy from it all.

"Silence!" A commanding male voice boomed before and above us, and the three of us all turned to look up at some shielded people high above us. There was a heavy silence hanging in the air, stagnant with the speaker's powerful presence-

"The fuck are you shitheads?" Nnoitra drawled at the speaker, before a gasp resounded around the chamber. _'Nice going dipshit, way to help our image.'_ I thought to myself, before hearing them speak again.

"Silence, I said! We are the newly-appointed Central Forty-Four, and we will decide your fates."

We three hollows stared up at them, instantly on-guard and instantly difficult. They went on, while we listened in silent anger.

"The three hollows, two Espada and an unranked grunt-"

"Numero!" I spat, before another boom of "SILENCE" shut me up.

"-Are obviously a terrible danger to Seireitei, as members of Aizen's army." The lead male went on, as others murmured things I could hear to be...violent. I interrupted again, though not as angry now.

"Can I take the time to say that I was forcefully inducted into the army? Like, having this prick next to me rip out my soul and turn me into an Arrancar that never agreed to join that ass Aizen?" I queried, and then got a quick, spiteful answer. "No, you may not. Now, your fates have been decided through the Forty-Four's discussion." I instantly got a bad feeling from the tone in his voice, and my fears were solidified as he spoke again.

"Death. The three of you will be executed via beheading by Zanpakuto."

Instantly, we three hollows shot to our knees, roaring. Well, Szayel not so much, but he still looked pissed, in his own way.

"The fuck we will!!" I shouted, as the room broke into chaos. People shouted at us, comments about us being dirty hollows, monsters, all sorts of things. Nnoitra was swearing at the top of his lungs, calling the shinigami anything he could even think of. "Fuck you, shinigami motherfuckers!! I'll fucking rip off your heads and piss in your hollowed-out skulls, goddammit!!" He roared, and the two of us made quite the bit of noise when we screamed together. Szayel was muttering something about us being savages, but he was also muttering about shinigami being subhuman or something, so I counted him on our side. We heard other Forty-Four members shouting, yelling about "Kill them!!", and "Soulless creatures, destroy them!!".

"Silence!!" The leader shouted, but it was too late as the shinigami came to grab us. We were going to be killed, going to be executed right here. What I heard next, though, was the final motherfucking straw.

"After the deaths of Sosuke Aizen, Gin Ichimaru and Kaname Tosen, and the execution of all other Espada with the fall of Las Noches, Orihime Inoue will also be executed for high treason." The leader decreed, and I heard Ichigo and some others that sounded very vaguely familiar screaming their upset in the back. But it was far too late.

I don't really remember what happened next, because it was all such a blur. When I did recall what I was doing, the shinigami coming to kill me was on the ground, a hole through his chest where I must have thrown a kick and blew a hole in him. So my own powers were still active, that was good. Next thing I knew, Nnoitra took down his own shinigami and Szayel knocked down his, and Nnoitra raised his own immense reiatsu as Szayel raised his and mine was still through the roof. With the force of it all, our reiatsu-restraining collars and handcuffs snapped off, and we were freed. Instantly, the three of us gave a quick glance to each other and began to run, blowing right past the shinigami and out the door to the enraged shouts of the speaker of the Forty whatever the fuck, and the sounds of dozens of Zanpakuto being drawn behind us. We barrelled through the hallways and past any surprised shinigami that weren't expecting three Arrancar to be making an escape, before we dodged into an office where Nnoitra and Szayel felt the pull to. Quickly, they grabbed their chained Zanpakutos in the corner and wielded them easily, while I remained Zanpakuto-less. Hearing them behind us, I stared at Nnoitra and Szayel a moment as they stared at each other and I.

"...Fuck, truce until we get the hell outta here." Nnoitra spat, and Szayel and I agreed. We lunged out the window, the cold air hitting our bodies in a somewhat soothing feeling, the air close to that of Hueco Mundo, the place I would have to call home from now on. We felt that monster Zaraki coming up at our backs, felt the other Captains, felt so many shinigami hunting us down that the chances of us getting out of this alive were zero to none.

It was gonna be one hell of a night.


	26. Black Dog Blues

The three of us were running like bitches.

Correction.

The three of us, myself, Nnoitra Jiruga and Szayel Aporro Grantz, were running like drunk bitches, mostly because we were so exhausted. Our reiatsu was still so low, we couldn't pull any fun shit like a Gargantua or anything. Well, Szayel and Nnoitra couldn't. I never learned how to do fun hollow shit. Didn't even have a goddamn Zanpakuto! Anyway, the three of us dodged down streets and leaped across rooftops, running from the shinigami coming to execute our asses. Fuckers. I knew that they were never trustworthy; not from the first moment I was told about magical death gods that sent people to make-believe Heaven. Shit.

"Move your fucking ass!" Nnoitra snapped, grabbing me by the horns and dragging me forward to fall into step with him and Szayel. I yelped at the sudden jerk, before slapping his hand off with added reiatsu, whatever I could muster. "Get your motherfucking hands offa me!! I ain't an Espada like you two, dipshit!" I growled, before turning around to face a group of shinigami at our backs. I couldn't do anything about it, but Szayel shot his hand out behind him as he continued to run.

"Cero!!" He breathed, and the bright red blast annihilated the shinigami while Nnoitra grabbed me by the arm and continued to run. "Come the fuck on, or I'll fuckin' leave you!!"

Nnoitra didn't let go of me for the rest of our time running through the streets, and I just kept up with him and gave up on bitching about it.

I did, however, bitch about other things.

"Why the fuck can't you open one of those Gargantua things, or some shit??" I spat, and got jerked around roughly because of it. Gonna have bruises on my arm because of that fucker. "'Cuz we're in Soul Society! Gargantua don't work in the S.S., you stupid bitch!" Nnoitra shouted, lashing out with his Zanpakuto and cutting down a shinigami in the way. We rounded a corner, Nnoitra giving up on having me run in step with him and just dragging me along.

"How the hell we gonna get out then??" I continued running, now getting an annoying pulsation feeling in the back of my skull. Like a headache, and it was making my pissiness worse than usual. Szayel scoffed, and Nnoitra growled out a 'Fuck'.

So we didn't know how to get out. Spec-fucking-tacular.

"Wait..." I murmured, remembering hearing something from some shinigami that wouldn't shut the fuck up at some point in time. "Shinigami leave by these...butterfly things. Where the fuck do they keep the...Hell Butterflies??"

It seemed to click with the other two, because they immediately looked inspired for a moment and then blank. They had no idea. Neither did I.

We're fucked.

Someone turned a corner ahead of us, and we three hollows looked up at who it was. A kid with snow white hair, a stern look on his face, and... wearing a Captain's coat.

Day gets worse every second.

* * *

"Shit!" I spat, feeling ice encase my left arm up to the elbow. It was so cold as to burn, and with my arm out of commission, I could only bring the other up to protect me when he swung his Zanpakuto again, and feel the blade cleave my arm easily. I shouted out in pain, staggering back towards where Nnoitra and Szayel were. I stared back, looking for some sort of assistance.

Nobody was there.

"They fucking left me!" I roared, clutching my hand to my chest. Well, more or less holding the injured right hand against me. The left was far too heavy to even lift above my hip, much less swing around with all that ice on it. I didn't dare look at what was wrong with my right hand, not now. I didn't need the shock. I just knew there was a lot of blood, and a lot of pain. My breath came ragged as I turned, looking back at the Captain. I could tell by that haori or whatever, which seemed to be stained in blood. I'm guessing it was mine.

"Your comrades deserted you while I was preoccupied." The kid stated, looking unnaturally austere with his blade leveled. Why did he even need to go into that Bankai thing, if I was just some random Arrancar? Maybe he expected Nnoitra or Szayel to give him more trouble. I was breathing raggedly, sweat sticking my hair to my skin and leveling a hard stare on him.

"They ain't my comrades. The tall one raped me, if that gives you any idea of how much we're not comrades." I deadpanned, and he didn't bat an eye. Wanting to keep him preoccupied, I kept talking and hoped that his buddies weren't going to show up soon and help him kill me. "We eat each other. They don't care if I live or die, and they really don't like me because I used to be a living human. The Arrancar were right though; you shinigami really are assholes."

He 'tched', and quaintly disappeared. I fell to my knees, a sword swipe aimed to behead me whizzing over my head. Digging my foot into the ground, I began to run like a bitch away from him while I had the chance.

_'Get away, have to get away so I can put my foot up both Grantz's and Jiruga's ass, and get back to Grimm-'_

The thought was cut short when he was suddenly in front of me again, another swipe aimed at my torso. I put my already wounded right hand up again, feeling more pain, and watching more blood fly through the air. I didn't see how bad that one was either, but what I did see was a finger or two fly through the air with the sword slice. And it wasn't just my hand that got sliced to ribbons, either; pain bloomed across my chest and I vaguely processed that I now had a deep horizontal cut from my left him to my right shoulder, as blood spurted grotesquely and fell near magnetically to his white coat. I normally would've noted with satisfaction that his coat had horrendous bloodstains on it now, stains that would never come out.

Right now though, I was more preoccupied with the dying thing happening to me at the moment.

His green eyes were cold and unemotional as I fell to my knees, staring blankly at his face. He really wasn't tall at all, because on my knees I was nearly the same height as him, maybe him being an inch or so taller. I noted, very dimly of course, that he had my blood sprayed across his front and even on his face. The kid didn't even blink. I hit the ground heavily, falling to the right and sprawling on my back, staring up at him blankly with blood pooling around me.

"You're monsters." I remember whispering hoarsely, staring up at him. His eyes seemed to flash something for a moment, but no more than that because he lifted his Zanpakuto and prepared to deliver the killing blow.

_'I'm going to die here.'_ The thought was fragmented, wasn't really comprehended in my mind for passing too quick. I watched the tip of his sword _bloody, dear god it was so bloody_ raise and angle between my eyes, for an instant kill.

**Inju.**

An odd voice boomed out in my mind, a voice I couldn't remember. But it sounded familiar, somehow. I blinked rapidly, trying to comprehend.

'Who's...what...who?'

My heavy left arm lay still, numb and most likely frostbitten within its ice tomb. The voice repeated, things seeming to slow down. Blood loss was the only reason I could come up with.

**Inju. It's time to wake up as what you are.**

I noticed that time seemed to stand still, before I was wrenched from my imminent death and away, to somewhere I didn't even know.

* * *

I opened my eyes, realizing that the pain was gone for now. The strange boy Captain was gone too, and I was alone under a clouded sky so dark it was near black. I sat up, looking around at where I was. A grimy field, raining lightly. Mud was sticking to my body, and it was dark mud. It was red mud. I knew what red mud was colored with, and the thought was slightly disturbing. Though not nearly as much as hearing that voice again from right behind me.

**Inju, turn around.**

It ordered, and I compulsively obeyed. The mud was so thick though, that it almost tried to hold me in place and I had to fight against it to move.

I turned to look straight in the milky eye of a six-foot, pitch black dog with its body rotting in places. It had one eye, the other a gaping, empty socket. The color of its coat was a color so different from any black I had ever seen. It was so deep, so thick, so soulless a color that my heart nearly seized at the sight of this dog and my soul seemed to freeze solid. I screamed, trying to crawl away from it only to find the mud even thicker than before, holding me right next to it. The creature was waist-high on me, and had no lips. Just teeth, bright white fangs showing to make the dog a terror to behold. A moment; it didn't open its mouth, but seemed to speak from between its teeth.

**Stop screaming.**

It ordered in a growl, and I stared blankly at it. My lips didn't seem to have the ability to form words, but I spoke between my teeth as well for fear of moving and provoking this hellhound.

"Who are you?" I asked shakily, and the creature sat down slowly, as if it were painful to do so. His bones were showing in places, and the left front leg was skeletal all the way up to the ankle, and I caught myself staring.

**My name is -------.**

As it tried to speak the name, I heard the sort of whine that only happens when you're somewhere completely silent, and the alarm in your ears is driving you crazy. I blinked, rapidly.

"Didn't quite catch that." I spoke to it, and the dog seemed to sigh.

**You still can't hear my name. Disgraceful for a hollow.**

It seemed disappointed, but I snarled at the statement. "Hey asshole, maybe if you spoke up I'd be able to hear you." I spat, and the dog seemed to growl in its throat.

**You test your limits. Remember that you're just an Arrancar by chance, the equal of a Numero. Possibly. You don't even have a Zanpakuto, so you're beneath even that.**

The rumbling growl startled me, as the rain drenched me. However, this rain had no temperature. It wasn't cold or hot, and felt...wrong. I was getting pissed, pulling at the mud to feel it tightening its grip on me. This mud wasn't normal, it was something different. It was actually holding me in place.

"I don't need one! I'm fine without-"

**And right now, being cut to ribbons is fine? You have no sword to defend yourself with, and that boy Captain is tearing you to pieces. Just look at your hand.**

I blinked, looking over at my right hand. It was visible through the mud, and I felt my stomach lurch at seeing it. That kid Captain had hacked off three of my fingers, and that last blow had split my entire arm up to the elbow. I stared in disbelief and horror at it, but recognized no feeling of pain.

"Why aren't I-"

**Feeling pain? This isn't the real world, Inju. This is your inner world, the place within your soul that I reside. I've been waiting ever since you became a hollow. I've been here the entire time, just not concentrated. Not reachable.**

I stared up at him, confused beyond belief. This huge, rotting dog was part of me? The irony of a rotting dog being inside the former member of Rotting Dog did strike me, but I brushed it aside. "So I'm not away from the shinigami tyke out there? How am I not dead?"

The dog seemed to wait a moment, sighing slowly before speaking in his deep, rumbling voice. I was staring right in his milky eye, which was disturbing me in the way it rolled of its own accord when he looked over at different things.

**Time is different here than in the real world. The boy is still preparing to kill you, and time is running out as we speak. What you need to do, you need to do it quickly.**

I blinked, staring up still. This wasn't making sense, and that little notice of time running out wasn't calming me down either. I looked down to see the cut across my body, and knew that time was running out for another reason, too.

"How do I do that? What do I do?" I asked the dog, and it seemed to...well, I don't know how I knew this, but I knew that dog was grinning.

**Find me, and you'll live. But you need to hurry. If you don't, then...**

He nodded towards me, and I immediately felt pain in my wounds again and saw blood bloom on my chest. I cried out, seeing my mangled arm spurt blood and stain that mud even darker red.

**...You have the idea. I'd get to looking, Inju. Ciao.**

The mud let me go and I shot to my feet, watching the dog nod behind me. I whirled around, only to see a vast swamp-like area full of blood red mud. I ran out into the ice cold mud, it was hard to move in. I waded through up to my waist, wanting to know what I was supposed to be looking for. I grabbed at things, trying to pull them free and see if they were what I needed. A tree limb, a clump of what looked like hair, not what I needed. My vision was swimming, my movements were becoming sluggish. It was becoming harder and harder to move through the thick mud, and I kept seeing so much red everywhere.

**Time is running out.**

The dog's voice spoke again, and I ignored it as my legs gave out. I didn't care anymore, so far past minding if I died. Just wanted to sleep, and the mud engulfed me as I sank to my knees, sank far down in it.

**You're giving up?**

_'Yes.'_

**Pitiful.**

_'Shaddap.'_

The further down I went, the stronger my urge to fall asleep seemed to grow. I thought of things, about the people I was going to leave behind when I died. Orihime had Ulquiorra; she'd be fine. Mom didn't care what happened to me. The people in Karakura didn't care what happened to me. Grimmjow probably didn't even care about what happened to me.

And then, I thought about a particular face. I thought of Aizen, smirking at me. Bastard knew I was turning hollow, had the fun with watching me turn and playing me as a puppet for his amusement.

And I thought of another face, one which prompted me to move into action once again. A smiling mug, the one-eyed man with the singular laughing eye sneering down victoriously at me. My heart flickered, and I squinted through my closed eyes, feeling my lungs burning with need for oxygen. Anger in my heart, and I felt pissed again. He was gonna win, and I didn't want him to have the satisfaction knowing that I had served a purpose in keeping him alive, if only for a bit longer.

And with that hate in my heart, I felt something brush my hand. Instantly, I reached over and seized it with all intentions of bludgeoning Nnoitra Jiruga to death with it. And when my fingers closed around it, I felt the last of my energy dissipate and sucked in mud, feeling it burn my lungs. I was going to drown, right after finding what that dog wanted me to find. I knew this was it. Opening my eyes, I saw the dog sitting on the bottom of the muddy pit and staring at me as if there were nothing around him at all, no mud. He was grinning still.

**Good, good. That hatred is what you are, Inju. You've never been anything but an apparatus of vengeance. Someday, I hope you can call me by name.**

My vision faded, I tried to swear at the dog with the acrid taste of mud in my mouth and the feeling of mud in my lungs but nothing came out. As I passed out, I heard the dog bid me goodbye with one word he seemed to like a lot.

**Ciao.**

* * *

I heard the whistling of a blade whizzing towards my head and my left hand shot up, holding something tightly as the sound of ice shattering reached my ears. Opening my eyes tiredly, I saw the kid Captain staring bewilderedly down at the Zanpakuto in my hand holding his own off. With a shove I pushed him back, moving to my feet and examining the sword. The hilt and guard were that same pure, unnatural black, and I smirked a bit. A small bit, but a bit nonetheless.

**Good, you know which end to hold.**

That dog was talking again, and I sighed in my head. _'Alright smartass, help me get out of here. I need to outrun him, or distract him enough to get away.'_

**Use sonido, and at the same time gather a cero on the sword. Any hollow can do it, and you being an Arrancar ensures it. Toss the cero at him and run like hell.**

_'I could've thought of that.'_

**Why didn't you then?**

_'Shaddap.'_

The Captain lunged and I concentrated, lunging forward in the direction I wanted to go while closing my eyes and paying attention to the hollow instincts making up that tingling in the back of my head. It felt like I was moving through water, almost, and the wind whipped hard on my skin while I moved. I opened my eyes in time to smack into a wall, falling backwards on my ass. I jumped to my feet cussing, seeing that I had made a little distance. Twelve feet, and the Captain was turning and beginning that shunpo thing. I concentrated reiatsu in my palm holding the sword, feeling heat against my skin. The soft red light quickly took to the Zanpakuto like it was a kerosene-soaked torch, and I turned back and swung in a crescent arc at the Captain. The cero snapped out, and I turned and sonidoed away, as fast as possible. I didn't know if I hit him or not, but I sonidoed as fast as I could towards Nnoitra's and Szayel's reiatsus not too far ahead, though all the sonidos were beginning to exhaust me beyond belief.

"I'm getting out of here, and I'm going to put my Zanpakuto up Nnoitra's ass."

**Don't.**


	27. The Karakura Redux

Rooftop to rooftop, I continued to sonido and thoroughly enjoyed the feeling of wind in my hair.

The horrific pain in my right arm, not so much.

With my own Zanpakuto, I felt more like a real Arrancar. And having it seemed to give me more access to my hollow abilities, as well. I could feel Nnoitra and Szayel's reiatsus, for one, as they were powerful and terribly thick. Choking, nearly, and much more so than the shinigami nearby. I leaped down from a building to the ground in front of them, twisting my Zanpakuto around and aiming to smash Jiruga across the face with the hilt. He was surprised enough with my sudden appearance for it to connect, but damn it all, it still didn't do any damage more than making him turn his head slightly, snarl at me, slam my face into a wall and then go running off with Szayel again, dragging me by the hair.

That did not work as planned.

"You got 'yer Zanpakuto then??" He was shouting, though it didn't seem to really be needed. I ignored the blood in my mouth from a broken tooth (that cracked one, courtesy of Nnoitra's face to wall technique) and held the blade tighter, spitting.

"Yeah, and it's still not fucking strong enough to cause a goddamn scratch on your ugly ass."

**You really think I'll be that powerful right after waking up? You don't even know my name yet.**

_'Not helping.'_

Nnoitra scowled at my words, gripping tighter on my hair and threatening to ram me into another wall.

"Shut the fuck up; at least now you're not useless. Not as much as before, anyway." He muttered, as I helped in running to keep up, which felt easier.

"Hey, don't start your shit with me! At least I've got a fucking idea how to get out of here, stupid bitch!" I growled, remembering a conversation I'd overheard on the way to my very uncooperative and unreliable 'allies'. Nnoitra glanced at me, as did Szayel from the corner of his eye.

"Then say it, bitch! Unless you were too stupid to notice, we're in the middle of the motherfucking Seireitei!" He was desperate, I could see it, but I was too.

"I heard shinigami talking; the Divisions keep the butterfly things. We grab one, head to the real world, hide out, head the fuck back to Hueco Mundo."

And so that became our plan, as we quickly found a shinigami and captured him, tortured him to the point of telling us where the nearest Division was, and then abandoned him to go there. Breaking through the wall of the Division wasn't so hard; it was finding the butterfly room that was the hardest. We did find it, after some close calls, and each grabbed a butterfly. Except Nnoitra crushed his, and he had to get another one. We all ran some more (like bitches), until...well, the worst possible thing happened.

Guess who we ran into? Kenpachi-fucking-Zaraki. From what I hear, the Seireitei's King of Kicking Ass. The fight was what I wanted, damn did I want it. But I saw that they were screwing with the gate thing that we were almost at, and everything blurred together in a flash of motion. I screamed at Nnoitra and Szayel, grabbed Nnoitra and attempted to Sonido away with him towards the gate. The force of jerking him along was incredibly painful on my already sore joints, but I didn't let it really hit me as the three of us leaped at the gate before those shinigami pricks had a chance to destroy it.

I remember a flash of light. And the butterfly pulled from my fingers, already guiding us through the tunnel. We ran after them, as the insects guided us through a dark tunnel. We ran and ran, at a far-off light, before we reached it suddenly. And we were standing in thin air, within somewhere I recognized. It must have shown in my face, as my eyes became wide at seeing where we were and I felt cool, pleasant air hitting my skin. Not hot and bone-dry like Hueco Mundo's air, nor unusually thick like Seireitei's.

Nnoitra gave me a shove on the shoulder, trying to get my attention. "Hey, hey! What? You have a fucking stroke or something?" He queried roughly, and with another punch to the shoulder I swatted his hand away with a snarl.

"No, shit for brains." I muttered, ignoring the slight flare of his reiatsu as I sonidoed down to ground level and began to walk along the river's edge. I glanced back at Szayel and Nnoitra in the air, growling out an answer.

"It's Karakura Town. The Living World."

* * *

"Where we going?" I heard Jiruga growl out for about the millionth fucking time, as we walked alongside one another along the bank of the river. I didn't answer, didn't feel the need to. Mainly because I didn't have an answer. Kurosaki was a definite no; he'd probably drag us back to Seireitei. Ishida was an absolute no; he'd kill us himself. Orihime was in Hueco Mundo still, so she wasn't around to give us shelter. Not that we probably had very long anyway, seeing as we were three Arrancar (two Espada) wandering around blindly within the Living World. I had only vague memories about where things were, so I was completely lost. But I glanced at the river, and an intense feeling of nostalgia hit me as I watched red dragonflies buzz about my head. Nnoitra swatted some away, and Szayel flicked his head now and then to get them off of him.

"Zetsumei." Szayel's voice cut my sense of fond remembrance, and I glanced at him. His eyes were as sharp as ever, though he was oddly serious instead of openly mocking. Probably the seriousness of our situation, actually. "Our own reiatsu is very low, too much to open Gargantua. A very unfortunate development, but I suspect it will return slowly over a few days and a few consumed souls. Until then, you are the only one who has...firsthand knowledge of this realm." Nnoitra's unhappy hisses and low swears had told me that Szayel must have told Nnoitra of this at some point in time already, and now was telling me. I put a hand to my head, sighing.

"I don't fucking remember much about this goddamn place, Grantz. It's fuzzy, and some of it isn't even there." I walked ahead of them, getting a kick in the ass from Nnoitra that made me fall forward to one knee. "You're fucking useless!" He snapped, and I stood up and was in the process of turning to argue, before just huffing and sonidoing off as fast as I could. Eventually I stopped, alone and at a spot that seemed so damn familiar that it nearly hurt.

"..." I remained silent, as vague flashes of memory hit me. Orihime, red dragonflies, sunset, the river, it was all there. It was vague, but it hadn't faded yet. And I recounted the irony of my current situation, a hollow wandering around with two other vicious hollows, at the same spot I had been a human with a human best friend.

"...Damn, how things change, huh Orihime?" I asked nobody, before hearing something that caused me to drop, slamming down to the ground suddenly. Just in time to dodge a bright red blast of...something, actually. Something that looked like a cero. And I saw a flash of green and blond, and caught sight of fluttering material before a blade came at my neck. Once again, instinct saved me as I jerked my nameless Zanpakuto up to hold it off, and caught a good look at who had nearly decapitated me and who had driven the flat side of my sword down far against the flesh of my neck. My eyes went wide, as did those of who happened to try and kill me and nearly succeeded a moment ago.

"Urahara??" I breathed, in deep confusion. The man I had known to be insane, goofy, _harmless_, had nearly killed me more than once and had almost decapitated me. And it turned out that he was apparently more dangerous than he let on, at least before. I shoved his Zanpakuto-why the hell did he even have one-away from me, holding mine up defensively. The hat was shading his eyes, and he looked so much more dangerous than before. Mainly because he wasn't grinning like a loon.

"Zetsumei?" He queried, looking at me with a sharpness in his stare that made him look damn dangerous. He wasn't putting away that sword, and I wasn't putting mine down either. I blinked at him, nodding quietly. I had staggered back, giving a healthy distance between us. Urahara gestured towards me with his blade.

"What happened?" The tone was dull, serious; almost like he didn't care either way. Or even, maybe he already knew. I answered in an equal tone.

"Turned into a hollow. Aizen planned it all along."

Urahara was silent a moment, before I glanced away to see Szayel and Nnoitra coming towards us, hands on their Zanpakuto. "Who's this?" Nnoitra snapped, and Urahara looked over Nnoitra. I gripped the hilt of my Zanpakuto tighter, already speaking quickly.

"We were kidnapped from Hueco Mundo by shinigami. They tried to execute us, and they plan to catch Orihime and kill her too for treason. We escaped, and now we want to go back to Hueco Mundo. Right?" I asked Szayel and Nnoitra, and they seemed to agree. I glanced at Urahara again, sheathing my sword. I knew that Urahara was our only hope, since shinigami would be actively hunting for us. Quickly, I bowed.

"Urahara, we need your help." I said quietly, but loud enough to be heard. Szayel and Nnoitra were silent, though I thought I heard someone swearing under their breath at needing help. Probably Nnoitra. Urahara kept his Zanpakuto out, though he gestured back towards a building I recognized after a moment.

"Shoten. Now." Was all he said, and his voice was hard and offered no leniency. I glanced to Nnoitra and Szayel, almost pleading with them with my eyes. "It's our only chance, we have to. Swallow your fucking pride and come on." I spat at them, mainly at Nnoitra, before sheathing my nameless Zanpakuto and heading towards the building with a few sonido. The building smelled of candy, and I only barely noticed that with the loss of the adrenaline, things became fuzzy and my thoughts were slower and sounds became like they were coming through cotton. I did notice that blood was following me as I walked into the building, noticing some redheaded kid shouting back for someone. My split arm was hurting like hell, and as the adrenaline dissipated completely, the leaden feeling in my limbs became too much and I fell to the floor. Barely did I notice someone heading towards me before I blacked out.


	28. The Obligatory Funny Urahara Chapter

**((It's the comic relief chapter, because Urahara is comedy gold. Oh, and if you're all curious (which you're not, I know it for a fact), whenever I mention a happy face, I envision Urahara with a :D face.))**

* * *

I woke up quickly, automatically sitting up just to be shoved right back down onto a soft thing. And when I opened my eyes to see who had their hand on my shoulder, forcing me down, I saw that it was a familiar mustachioed mountain of a man.

"Tessai?" I asked, finding my voice unusually hoarse. He leaned back, letting go of me. "Yes, Zetsumei-san. Stay down and rest, your injuries-"

I didn't give him the chance to finish, already sitting back up and beginning to stand, ignoring the loosely fluttering bandages wrapped around what I guessed was my shoulder, or at least my upper arm.

"What are y-" I began, before something connected hard with the back of my skull and stars exploded in my vision, my legs going weak as someone else's hand grabbed my shoulder and shoved me back down, flat on my back. I coughed, staring up at Urahara. He was smiling goofily, as I glared.

"You asshole..." I breathed, angrily. Urahara only set his cane (the weapon he'd bludgeoned me with) back down onto the floor, flipping out his fan and holding it over the bottom half of his face with an innocent look. Well, as innocent as Urahara could ever look, and from what I could see.

"Why, I'm just helping keep you from killing yourself, Inju. Don't blame me for being my lovable rogue self." The fan was flipped closed, as I glared at him.

"The best anyone could say about you is 'lovable creep', and that's stretching it just a-" I started, before a rag was stuffed in my mouth and Urahara set to unwinding the bandages around my split arm.

"Do me a favor and don't scream too loud. Ruins the ambiance, for one, and two, Jinta and Ururu are sleeping." I heard him tell me, before I bit down on the rag and swore loudly through it. He had pulled the bandages off, looking at the damage with a thoughtful expression. My arm was no longer split (I guessed Kido), though there would no doubt be horrific scarring. It was only together loosely, and when I glanced I saw that it seemed to only be bone and some muscle patched together, not everything. There was still bleeding, and Urahara was apparently trying to keep his hands only relatively clean.

"Missing a few fingers, aren't we? And this was a pretty nasty injury." He tapped on the arm, and I yelped in pain. The soiled bandages were tugged away and he left Tessai to begin wrapping it up again, in silence. When he was done, Tessai said something about tending to the shop and the other 'guests' and left, leaving Urahara and I alone.

"So tell me...Las Noches?" He asked airily, though a tone of seriousness had seeped into his voice. I stared blankly at a wall, speaking in a dull monotone.

"Uneventful." Urahara tugged white cloth into my view, and I pulled the white cover over myself lazily. "Ah, I see." He replied, as I vaguely noticed that I was in clothes that seemed vaguely familiar. Wait...those were the clothes that I left here at some point in my human lifetime, weren't they? Damn, it was all fuzzy. I vaguely noted Urahara moving around to sit at my feet, holding my Zanpakuto up into view. I sat up a small bit to watch him. Urahara remained silent, though curiosity was in his eyes.

"And this? When did you manifest this?" He queried, and I shrugged. "That icy brat of a Captain nearly killed me, and I sort of met that spirit thing in my head. Or soul. Something like that." I gestured towards the deep, uncomfortably deep black-colored blade. "Some big dog thing. Don't know his name."

Urahara made a noise that sounded like 'hm', before setting the blade against the wall. I stared at him, feeling uncomfortable in the position I was laying in, since my mask horns were pressing against the floor. Without asking if it was alright, I went ahead and sat up anyway while ignoring a sharp stare from Urahara. Sighing, I laid my hand on top of my head, feeling the smooth bone-like horns under my fingers.

"So tell me, when did you become a hollow?" He asked, point-blank. I closed my eyes a moment, before answering him.

"Well, right about when Kurosaki and the grand rescue team showed up. After he beat Grimmjow, actually. 'Member Nnoitra, in there?" I jerked my head towards the door, and Urahara nodded. "Yeah, it was him. Then there was rape, or something like that. I don't remember all too well, nowadays." I laid back down, rolling over onto my side and closing my eyes. "Anyway, we just need to hang around until Jiruga or Grantz can open a Gargantua back to Hueco Mundo."

"So, you're going back? Willingly, this time? You know what that means, don't you." I didn't see his face, but his voice was a cool monotone. I answered in a similar tone.

"Yeah, I'm going back. Even if it makes me a bonafide traitor, though I don't think it really matters anymore. Look at me, I'm a fucking Arrancar; Seireitei tried to fucking execute me. I never liked the shinigami in the first place, but no way in hell I'm getting anywhere near them now. Besides, Orihime is in Las Noches with Ulquiorra, and-" I went on and on, rolling over to look at him and seeing that he was already at the door, hovering in the doorway.

"Well, you rest up, and don't move too much or you'll die~" Urahara said in an overly cheerful tone, before shutting the door suddenly. I sighed, letting out a puff of air before closing my eyes and rolling back over.

"Freaking psychopath."

* * *

"Attention, everyone! Your attention, for something important!"

Urahara called, a loud rapping of his cane on the table accompanying the announcement. I blinked, looking up from my seat. It had been a few days, and my wounds had been healing enough for me to move around again safely. Those horse pills with the little (very comforting) skull and crossbones on the bottle worked wonders. I was in the process of taking my morning dose (it was five in the goddamn morning; Urahara was a total, grinning Nazi when it came to getting up early), sticking the pill on the back of my tongue with a slight scowl, washing it down with a gulp of bitter tea. The glass hovered at my lips as I glanced to Nnoitra and Szayel, both giving Urahara the barest shreds of their attention. Nnoitra had been skulking around town when he thought Urahara was unaware of his escapades, mainly chasing down souls and ripping them to shreds for the hell of it. Grantz had been busy snooping around the Shoten, attempting to tear into Urahara's own lab that he was sure was somewhere around there (I had informed him of Urahara being the nexus of Seireitei's powers, and that got his attention right away). From how surly he looked, I assumed that he hadn't found shit yet.

"Yeah? Spit it out, shinigami." Nnoitra growled, an elbow on the table and his chin on his fist, supporting his head. With tha maddest sort of happy face, Urahara whacked Nnoitra's elbow as hard as he could with his cane, keeping his eyes trained on the rest of the table without so much as a glance to Nnoitra. Jiruga was swearing under his breath, calling Urahara and his mother all sorts of shit, and Urahara was ignoring him beautifully.

"No elbows on the table, hollow boy." He said with a continued happy face, unbothered by it all. I snorted in laughter, holding my (heavily) bandaged hand over my mouth to hide the snide grin at Nnoitra's misfortune, catching a hot glare from the Quinta in the process. The end of a cane jabbed my diaphram hard, and all the air was knocked out of me as a wave of nausea crashed over me and I hit the floor, sprawling.

"Use a coaster~" Was all the answer I got from Urahara, though I never asked the question. I gagged, hearing Nnoitra's crackhead laugh at my misfortune as he continued rubbing his elbow, along with a sentence that began with 'Stupid bitch got what she deser-'. I didn't see it, but I heard another crack as a cane connected with something hard. I also heard Nnoitra spit out an obscenity.

"Now I'm the one talking, mister Jiruga. Manners!" Urahara's overly cheerful voice floated down to me on the floor, and I sat up and supported myself on the table, drooling heavily from how close I came to vomiting from being hit in the diaphram. I glanced up at him staring pointedly from under the shadows of his hat, and I very quickly put a coaster under my glass of tea. Nnoitra was rubbing the side of his head, and if looks could kill, Urahara would be a dead man. No, he was just a crazy fuck grinning like a madman.

I did notice that Szayel had put a coaster under his glass of tea only very, very recently. I glared at him, and he ignored me and kept his eyes on Urahara, his elbows off the table and didn't interrupt. Urahara started speaking again, and I looked back to him.

"Well, as you know, you're all being hunted down by Seireitei and its shinigami. They're trying to kill you." He told us, which we did already know. We remained mostly silent, though Nnoitra muttered a 'no shit' that Urahara ignored.

"Anyway, I can't keep you all here. Your reiatsu isn't high enough to be pinpointed amidst all the other higher reiatsus nearby, but very soon you'll all gain enough reiatsu to be pinpointed again. I really can't afford a scandal here; Seireitei distrusts me enough as it is." He had lost the manic glee, now fading back into the alien, serious Urahara that we all paid more attention to. We all heeded his words more when he was like this, when he was serious and scary as fuck.

"So what, you'll throw us out on our asses to be sliced to hell?" Nnoitra queried roguishly, glaring. Urahara glanced to him, no longer smiling.

"No, I've got a plan." He recited, conviction in his voice. I scoffed, not believing the man.

"What sort of plan will that be? What else is there for us to do?" I growled, much in the same tone as Jiruga or Grimmjow might've. Urahara tapped his cane on the floor, and Tessai came out with three bodies slung over his shoulder. He dropped them on the table, before standing back and watching. I noticed Jinta and Ururu watching from the doorway, though it did look like Ururu knew that she was supposed to be doing something else and Jinta made her come along and eavsdrop.

"Ta-da!" Urahara chimed, acting the part of a fool again. We had all jumped (Well, I did) when Tessai dropped the things on the table. I peered at them, but didn't recognize anything besides what looked like corpses with weird hair. Szayel seemed to be appraising them, as Nnoitra and I ignored the things in favor of bitching at Urahara.

"How do corpses help us live longer, exactly??" I growled, jabbing one of the bodies in the shoulder roughly. Urahara tsked under his breath, as if he were disappointed in us for not getting it. He tapped one body with a cane, more or less jabbing it in the side of the head.

"Well, I thought you all were smart enough to figure it out. Take a look at them and see if you can't figure out my ingenious geniusness." He grinned, as I grabbed one and rolled it over the same time as Nnoitra and Szayel flipped the other two. The one under my hands was a black-haired male with glassy amber eyes, which made it look so damn eerie. I glanced up to Urahara, questioningly.

"I don't get it." I stated in dull monotone, and Urahara's grin dropped to a disappointed frown.

"I didn't think you were so stupid." He sighed, and I was about to spit an insult at him when Szayel interrupted suddenly.

"Gigai." He said blankly, and I stared down at the male in my hands.

"What's a Gigai? Dead thing?" I asked nobody in particular, and Urahara laughed.

"Well, you see, I figured that I'll just put you all in Gigai and open a Gargantua myself. These will keep your reiatsu low enough that you won't be noticed by shinigami, and can impersonate normal humans. Although, a regular Gigai that looks _just like you_ would be recognized instantly, so I had to chance a few things..." He looked like he was about to say something else, when Nnoitra interrupted.

"Oh no. Oh FUCK no." He muttered in horror, looking down at a woman with long black hair, and one slitted eye. Szayel was staring at a pink-haired woman with golden eyes and glasses. I also got the epiphany of a lifetime and muttered something myself along the lines of 'YOU BASTARD'.

"That's right!" Urahara chimed in incredibly gleefully, as if he were anticipating our reactions. "I couldn't change too much or you wouldn't recognize each other, but I couldn't change too little or shinigami themselves would recognize you. So I just switched the genders~" His last words ended in a sing-song voice, the tone unnaturally, cheerfully high. Nnoitra and I lunged. A cane caught me in the throat, and a foot caught Nnoitra in the groin. We both crumpled, though Nnoitra looked like he was preparing for another attack while I was choking horribly.

"Now now, I did go through the trouble of making you all Gigai to keep you safe, and we even got you new clothes! Don't be so...ungrateful." The last word ended on a rather serious note, and I glanced up to watch him leave the room. "Get into your Gigai quickly, go to your rooms and change into the clothes that're already there, and come back out. I'd hurry, I think shinigami are coming very soon."

And so Nnoitra, Szayel and I looked at one another, before gathering our Gigai bodies and going into our rooms. Jiruga and I swearing loudly.

* * *

"Well, you all look adorable!"

Urahara's cheerful voice did not help my mood. I had gotten into my male Gigai, gotten into clothes, and not liked how this Gigai felt. Tight, cramped, and it pinched me in places. I'd forgotten how tight a human body had felt, and how loose and airy I felt as a soul. I was also very displeased at finding out that Urahara had given me a member fit for a horse, as some sort of sick, sick, joke. Cruel fucker. I wore a thin white button-up shirt with a black jacket over it, a scarf wound around my neck and tan slacks. I had short black hair that was wild and unkempt, as I kept running my hands through it as a nervous sort of tic.

I was staring at Urahara, though stealing glances at Nnoitra and Szayel. Nnoitra had thrown a huge goddamn fit about being a woman, and it had taken a long time to actually get him to wear it and not try to break things instead. Now that he came out, I got a good look at femme Nnoitra. If I hadn't been in such a foul mood about my own new gender, I would've been laughing at him. Her. Nnoitra had screwed with his hair to make it hang like his male hair had hung, and was scowling much the same. He was shorter, normal human woman size, and his teeth had been changed to normal human teeth, and he kept opening and closing his mouth in what I guessed was an attempt to make it feel less odd. And he was having trouble crossing his arms over his chest, seeing as Urahara had seen fit to give him a rather large rack.

I did smirk about that, but for only a moment before I settled into another snarl. Nnoitra was wearing a long-sleeved white shirt with a long black trenchcoat over it, buttoned up, deep brown pants, and sandals. He was currently itching something, what I assumed was a bra.

A glance to Szayel showed that he was wearing an unamused deadpan stare, though he looked more comfortable with his new body than Nnoitra and I did. He had his pink hair looking near exactly the same as it had in his real form, and his rack wasn't as pronounced as Nnoitra's was (I assumed it was because Szayel was a good listener and didn't piss off Urahara, and thus, did not suffer The Wrath of Urahara), with his arms crossed under his breasts comfortably. He was wearing a wine-colored turtleneck sweater that looked very warm, along with black pants with white vertical stripes. Slimming. And he was wearing black heels too. And he looked comfortable in walking in them. I was finding this suspicious.

"Fuck. You." I growled, finding my voice odd at being deeper.

"I'm gonna rip your intestines out your ass later on." Nnoitra snapped, in a (hilarious) female voice that still managed to be goddamn terrifying. Szayel sighed, his voice now femininely light. Urahara frowned, innocently.

"Now why are you all so mad? I helped you, didn't I?" He queried, naively, as if the man had done absolutely no wrong. Nnoitra jabbed a finger at his breasts, accidentally jabbing them and then hissing in pain. I was the one to speak.

"You just _had_ to give me a camel dick, didn't you? I hate you so goddamn much." I growled lowly, and Urahara wagged a finger in my face.

"Language, language! We've got kids in this place, for god's sake. Filthy mouth." He chided me, and I really wanted to bite him right then. I didn't, and Urahara turned and headed to the front door.

"Well, I've got a friend that's going to house you for maybe a day or two, at least until you actually get your own place to wait for me to raise the Gargantua. And I'd be a little less rude to people that can..._accidentally_...send you to Seireitei instead of Hueco Mundo!" His warning was given cheerfully, which made it even more ominous. He then glanced to Szayel, speaking to him so quietly that I couldn't hear what he was saying. Szayel nodded, before passing him and walking out the door and waiting near a tree not too far off. Nnoitra spat at Urahara's feet and walked out wordlessly, and Urahara just folded out his fan to cover the bottom half of his face, wearing a probably fake surprised look.

"My my, so rude. You hollows are very ungrateful." He sighed, acting innocent. I glared at him, wanting to punch the man but knowing better. He was apparently expecting me to try and smack him too, because when I moved, he moved back to apparently prepare to dodge if I was to swing. Instead, he just looked surprised as I bowed at the waist, deeply.

"...Thank you, Urahara...sama." I kept my voice from a growl or a mutter, apparently surprising Urahara. He snapped his fan shut, once again taking on a serious expression as I straightened up, nodding my head to him and turning to leave. A closed fan thudded on my shoulder and I stopped, glancing back to him with surprise.

"Be careful. You're on thin ice, Zetsumei, and treading water." He warned, and I nodded. I didn't like the man, but I owed him and I knew that. And on some level, I respected him. I respected him greatly.

"I'll be fine, sir. But...thanks." I said quietly. He only patted me on the shoulder, before I turned and walked off with a wave over my shoulder. "And don't think that this means I'm gonna call you that forever, Urahara. One time deal." I called, glancing over my shoulder to see him grin wryly.

"Wouldn't dream of it, jukeisha. You're a juvenile delinquent, why would I expect anything good of you?" He called, grinning still. I smirked crookedly, before turning and walking after Nnoitra and Szayel. I didn't see Urahara's smile fade, and I didn't notice the white envelope he had shoved into my pocket at some point or another. And I didn't hear him say, "Good luck. You'll damn well need it."

* * *

We had come to a stop in front of Urahara's colleague's home, which Szayel had been given the address to. And I was just staring blankly. Nnoitra shoved me, and Szayel walked ahead with his clicking heels to knock on the door of the building. We waited for someone to answer, which a goatee'd man did, smiling.

"Ah, you must be those homeless that Kisuke was talking about! Come in, come in. It's a good thing that I've always had a room for travelers with nowhere to go, or you'd be out on the streets!"

And thus, Jiruga, Grantz and I followed Isshin Kurosaki into his clinic to see this room we were going to be staying in.


	29. Reunion

"So, the two ladies will be staying in this room."

I stared into the two-futon room, while Szayel walked in and began to look around. The doctor, Kurosaki, was grinning like a moron as he held the door open. I took a step forward, forgetting my new gender, before he caught me by the back of my jacket and tugged me back out.

"You've got your own room, back here." He laughed, and I watched as he clapped Nnoitra on the back and knocked 'her' in.

"Dinner is in an hour, and even guests follow Yuzu's rules. After you eat, wash your hands within ten minutes or you don't get the next meal, and she's serious!" He shut the door, before waving me over in another direction.

"Since we only have one spare room, you're going to have to room with someone else." He explained, opening a door and leaning inside.

"That guest is here. You've got the extra futon out, right?"

Another voice answered him, one I was horribly familiar with.

"Yeah, he can sleep in the closet." The answerer leaned out of the door, staring at me with a disgruntled expression. Isshin clapped him on the shoulder, smiling.

"This is Akihiko Ishimura. Akihiko, this is my son, Ichigo. Thought I'd introduce you two, since you'll be staying in Ichigo's room for awhile." He clapped me on the back this time, making me jump, before laughing and heading off in another direction.

"You two make friends now!" I heard him call back, before looking over at Ichigo. He just stared after his father, before glancing towards me.

"He's always like that, but you'll get used to it. Come on, come in." He waved me in, and I shuffled in after him and shut the door behind me. Ichigo's room was nicely decorated, not clumped and girly like Orihime's was or completely spartan like any room in Las Noches was. I pulled off my coat and dropped it on the floor where Ichigo pointed, before heading over to the closet and opening it up. There were winter sheets on top of a futon in there, though it was a small room (and very dark). Ichigo, the bastard. Didn't even bother to get me a comfortable room. I crawled in and flopped on my new bed, noticing that there was a stuffed animal under me. A lion-looking little stuffed animal.

"You play with dolls?" I called out to Ichigo, and he walked over and snatched it away from me.

"No. It's my sister's. Don't know how it got in here." He snapped at me, and I shrugged and rolled over.

"Night you pussy."

Ichigo turned around, staring at me. "What?"

I didn't move. "Nothing."

* * *

The time spent at the Kurosaki clinic-slash-household was unbearable.

Nnoitra and Szayel had started telling me about having to eat souls, though it was only in private that we talked about it. Apparently, that empty feeling that never left no matter how much I ate was me needing to eat souls. And so, after a few weeks of spending time trying to remember to wash my hands so that I could eat, I decided to leave one night without Nnoitra or Szayel. Hey, I don't need those pricks, I told myself. I was planning to leave on my own, anyway, until I figured out I had no idea how to leave my gigai.

Until one night, when Ichigo was gone and I spotted a little badge hanging off his bedside. Curious, I touched it and immediately hit the floor, sitting up and finding myself in my female body with my fake one sprawled across the floor. Oh shit, I was fucked.

"Oh shit, I'm fucked." I told myself, grabbing my gigai and putting it in the closet. Now I was pacing, around and around and around, attempting to figure out what the hell to do now. And the clothing I was automatically wearing in my soul form seemed to be my Las Noches uniform, for some reason. I heard a noise, something like an 'eep', and whirled around suddenly. All I saw was that freaking doll, and no people. And so I relaxed, dropping onto the bed next to it and sighing.

"Aw...what the fuck do I do now?" I sighed, picking up the doll and staring at it. That stare turned into a harsh glare.

"And what the fuck are you looking at?" I snapped.

At a doll.

"...Great, now I'm talking to Ichigo's dollies." I sighed, tossing the doll across the room. When it hit the floor, I heard it make noise.

I heard a doll make noise.

Instantly I sonidoed over to the doll and scooped it up, shaking it. "Did you just make a noise?! Tell me I'm not insane for hearing it, come on, tell me!!" I shook it hard, before I heard...it...talk.

"Hey, knock it off!" The little lion snapped, and I dropped it and started stamping on it.

"Oh god it's some shinigami alert system and it's going to get Zaraki over here to kill me, oh GOD I do not need this right now, I've got to kill it-" I punctuated every word with a hard stamp on its face, before it started...yelling at me.

"You deaf?! I'm not a shinigami thing, so quit stamping on me, you idiot!" The doll wormed away from me and pointed at me now, yelling. I just dropped to my knees and stared at it.

"Are you...a monster thing?" I asked, poking it curiously. It looked pissed.

"No, I'm not!" I think it was a male...doll...so I sat back and listened. "Now, who the hell are you??" It jabbed a soft, fluffy hand at me, and I blinked.

"I'm...you can't tell Ichigo. I'm not a danger, I just want to go home, and I can't do that until we wait for Urahara." I plead with the little animal, staring at it plaintively. It seemed to think a moment, before stepping back.

"Oh no, I'm telling Ichigo as soon as he gets home that you're-"

He didn't get it out as I snapped him up, shaking him again and yelling through my teeth. "Listen you little fucker, if you tell Ichigo I swear to fucking god I'll rip off your limbs and shove you down the goddamn toilet! I'll put you in a woodchipper, and I'll put the soggy pieces in a fucking fire!! Do you hear me, I'll fucking do it because I'm way off the fucking deep end!!" I was near screaming, and the doll was trying to pacify me.

"Okay okay okay, we don't need to get that wild, do we??" I dropped him, giving up and heading for my body.

"Good, I just...don't tell him, so I don't get nixed by shinigami again. They tried to kill me last time, I don't want to have to escape again." I climbed into my body, and found out that I can get back in there easily. I, for some insane reason, trusted that doll. And I didn't really care if he betrayed me or not, because I wouldn't live much longer than that if he did.

* * *

"Alright, it's done!!"

Nnoitra, Szayel and I were staring at Urahara and his Gargantua. Apparently, hollows could pass through it easier than living things. It was a flash that we went through it and a flash when we landed in Hueco Mundo. And it was another flash that I went with Nnoitra and Szayel back to Las Noches. The time we'd spent in the living world had passed quickly, completely boring and harrowing at the same time.

Aizen was happy to have us back. I think. He might've been lying through his teeth.

"And so, Zetsumei, you're deciding to stay with us?" He asked me, and I sighed and nodded.

"Yes...Aizen-sama. I really don't have anywhere else to go, and the shinigami are pricks." I bowed at the waist, really in a hurry to find someone else. Aizen was silent for a moment, before speaking again.

"Well put, Numero Zetsumei. Dismissed."

I was gone in an instant, hunting for Grimmjow's reiatsu. I did find it, in a lone hallway, and when I saw him, I automatically rushed at him.

"Grimmjow!" I shouted, getting his attention, and stopped a few feet in front of him. I remember smiling, holding my arms out and walking forward. He was scarred up from his fight with Ichigo, it looked like, but he looked almost the same. I didn't recognize how he was staring at me until I was almost hugging him, and was shoved into a wall and pinned by my throat.

"So, you done being Jiruga's whore?"

My heart broke. What was left of it, anyway.

"Wh...huh?"

"Don't fuck with me!" He snapped, and I felt the heat of a cero building in his hand around my throat. "You fucking ran off with him, because you were done with small fry like me!"

I shook my head, hand on his wrist.

"No, I was kidnapped by the goddamn shinigami, and we couldn't get away! Don't be an idio-"

I'm not sure if it was a slap or a punch, but something sent me careening towards the ground. I tasted blood, and stared up at him bewilderedly.

"You little fucking liar!" Grimmjow snapped, and he dragged me to my feet by my shirt. "I saw you and him up on that rock! You fucking loved it when he was screwing you, didn't you?!"

Now I was pissed. I remember grabbing something, and shoving him hard so that he let go of me. Turns out, I grabbed him by the hair and shoved him into a wall.

"You fucking asshole!! You think I **liked** that?! I waited! I waited to see you again, because I wanted to! And _this_ is how you greet me? Well **fuck** **you too!** I don't ever want to see your fucking face again! Go die in a ditch, for all I care!" And I turned away, and I was crying and I hated him for that. And after all that time, our reunion was a screaming match, before I stamped away into Las Noches' depths.


	30. Hate and Cheshire Cats

Well, after I got in that row with Grimmjow (because he was being an ass), I stomped off to...well, I didn't have my own room yet, because I had been _expecting_ to be marked as...well, I dunno, maybe Grimmjow's Fraccion or something. But nooo, Grimmy-puss had to be a dickhead.

I can be a dickhead too.

The thought flashed through my mind sharply, and it branded itself into my heart. That's it. I was going to piss him off, because...I had nothing else except him. And that was so fucking sad and pathetic, I could just vomit. I was so wrapped up in loathing (self-loathing and loathing for everything and everyone else) that I didn't recognize the sound of footsteps approaching where I sat in a white lounge chair in a small room meant for relaxation, staring out at the moon that was so damn...wrong. And I continued to not notice it until I did faintly remember that breathing came from people, and that breathing was happening over me. I looked up, seeing who was staring straight down at me, and froze.

"Well, you look sad. Or is that anger?"

That creepy bastard Ichimaru had followed me, it seemed. Had he seen the fight? Had he really been so creepy and disgusting as to watch something like that?

Probably.

"...It's anger. What the fu...what is it that you need, Ichimaru-...sama?" I had to continually correct myself, remembering that this was the second-in-command of Aizen's entire army, only under Aizen himself. I mean, you don't take risks with these kinds of people. I did, I took plenty risks with Grimmjow and Nnoitra, but that was because they didn't scare me like this. They were like me, in temper and in a few other violent tendencies. They were at least able to act human.

Ichimaru, he didn't act human. Normal humans don't smile all the time. And they don't smile like _that_.

"Wow, I'm flattered." He sat on the arm of the chair, sprawling out like some sort of tom cat and leaning halfway over me. "I wasn't expecting so much respect from someone like you. What a little spat you had with Grimmjow; I couldn't help but hear."

Yeah, I bet you couldn't help but hear. Freak.

"Erm...yeah, I'm not completely stupid. Maybe a little...maybe moderately, but I'm not stupid enough to screw with someone like you. I know where to toe the line, and you're not someone to fuck with, are you?" I crossed my arms over my chest, stealing glances at him now and then to make sure of his position. I think I heard him laugh then, and it was a raspy noise, like someone giving their death rattle. I could feel that he was toying with a sparse bit of my hair, and it made the hair on the back of my neck stand up straight by how damn cold his fingers were as they brushed my skin.

"Smart girl."

This man was so...he made my skin crawl. Like there were maggots under my skin, writhing. That's how uncomfortable I was when he was this close.

"I try." My voice was strong, but you could hear that the strength was hollow and it probably amused him too.

"So, you and Grimmy aren't getting along?" He asked nonchalantly, and I forced myself to stay calm. I made a mistake then; I closed my eyes.

"He's being a bitch."

"Well, he wouldn't like hearing someone call him a bitch, now would he? But, you're right; our Pussy-kun is being rather pissy lately." His voice was something of a humming, lazy and calm, and it was sort of relaxing. And I knew it wasn't like that all the time, because I'd heard it sharp and cutting and I'd heard it when it was a wispy soft tone that chilled you to the bone.

"Not my problem." I snapped, still having the taste of blood in my mouth. I found out that I bit my tongue when he hit me and I was still swallowing blood when I had sat down to fume. A rustling of cloth; Ichimaru was off of the arm of the chair and now right next to me, way too close; I could tell that his skin was very cold underneath his clothes. My eyes shot open and I saw him smiling even bigger, and my heart skipped a beat in pure, total terror. My attempt to scoot away was met with an arm on my shoulder, dragging me close and not letting me escape.

"Well, here's a proposition." His breath was on my face and it smelled like...rain and candy. I'd wonder about that later, but that's what it smelled like. "I know you're angry with our little Grimmy, and I'm not too happy with him either. He's been a pest with that bad mood of his, and it's making me...well, I guess you could say that I'm getting rather...**annoyed**." That word was said in a slick, 'I'm totally pissed but I'm not showing it because it'd make me look less scary' kind of way. I nodded quickly, my eyes wide. He seemed to approve, before continuing.

"So...why don't we do something that'll get him back? I've an idea, but I can't do it without you. Whaddya say; are we partners?"

I really, really didn't want to take his hand and touch him any more than I had to. But his face was looming, and I also really, really didn't want to give him a reason to be...**annoyed** with me, either.

"Erm...I...don't really think I want..." I began, stumbling over my words, before he was on his feet and heading towards the door.

"Ah, don't worry about it, come tell me your answer when you decide. Toodles!" He was gone, probably shunpo just to throw me off. I spat and swore at him after he was gone, rolling onto my side.

"Fucking freak." I grumbled, after getting my nerve back. Coward. I was such a coward, scared stiff by that man. But I also reasoned that he was a scary man, so I was content. I wanted vengeance, yes, but I didn't want to work with Gin to get it.

A door opened at my back and I tried to ignore Gin, as he probably came back to-

"Hey you slut, what the fuck was that??" A hand fisted in my hair and dragged me off that stiff, cold and very uncomfortable lounge and I felt rancor on the back of my tongue as I sunk my nails into his wrist and jerked free of him.

"None of your fucking business, Grimmjow." I spat, turning quickly to face him. "You watching who I'm with now? What are you, my mother? Fuck off."

Bad choice of words.

He had me up by the front of my shirt and up against the wall, his eyes bright and crazed (this was the first sign that I was fucking with him at a very bad time) and his lips in a snarl.

"No, I wasn't watching who you were with; I saw him leaving and knew that with your loose cunt, you probably fucked him too, didn't you??" Grimmjow growled, and I barely recognized that I was a foot off the ground. My turn to be pissed.

"You are such a fucking **asshole**!!" I roared, hands on the wrist of the arm now holding me up against the wall. "I didn't fuck anybody, what the hell is wrong with you?? Don't tell me you're jealous!"

"Jealous?!" He heard that, and goddammit all, he started laughing at me. Sharp, too loud to be genuine, and as derisive as possible. "Jealous of what? Other men fucking you? _You??_ I'm not jealous of shit, I'm just pissed that you're doing what I told you not to!" He shook me now, and my head collided with the wall with every shake. I was getting dizzy, but I didn't notice as he dragged me down, face-to-face.

"You're my toy, you hear that?" Grimmjow growled in my face, and his breath smelled like blood and raw meat, and it was absolutely disgusting. I barely noticed. "I do whatever the hell I want with you, because I own you. I'll do what I want, and then when I'm done, I'll get rid of you because you're nothing. You're absolutely _nothing_ without me. I could've killed you, ripped you to shreds, and I didn't. You **owe** me."

I saw red.

With a sudden jerk, my forehead collided with his, and the suddenness of it shocked him enough to let me go. My vision was spinning, and I felt pure agony from that stupid stunt, but I was loose and coherent enough to screech at him.

"You're a jealous, useless fucking moron! I don't owe you shit! You think I'm happy now? I'm an Arrancar, in Aizen's army, and I've probably lost every friend I've ever had! I've been raped, and you blamed me for it too! You know, I'm just so goddamned sick of taking your shit!" I wasn't paying attention to what he was doing, intent more on screaming at him some more.

"I've been your punching bag for long enough, Jeagerjaquez. I'm done with you." And I turned to walk away, not even caring that I was walking away from a Sexta Espada with rage issues and more power than I'd ever have. And I continued to not care, until a cero whizzed past and blasted a hole through my shoulder. I think I screamed, but I don't know if it was in pain or rage as I grabbed my zanpakutou and swung, throwing a cero back at him. At least, I thought it was a cero, before I recognized that I was doing my special attack thing that Aizen had brought me here to watch in the first place. It didn't hit him, no, but it gave me enough time to spit out something at Grimmjow again.

"I was stupid for ever even caring about you! I wish Kurosaki would've killed you in that fight!" I cried, and it was horrible and gutteral. And then I was gone, sonidoing away and down the hall so I could get away from him. I knew I must've been an idiot to ever have anything resembling love towards a sick, horrific monster like Grimmjow. I should've remembered that he was a hollow; I got stupid, let myself think he was human, that he could love and do normal people things. Of course not. And I felt a pang of terror at the thought of whether I could even love at all anymore. It subsided.

I visited Orihime that day. She healed my shoulder at once, while I was raging about Grimmjow. She didn't even get a single word in edgewise, because after she healed me, I didn't need her at the moment and left. I was a hollow now, and I didn't care about whether she had her feelings hurt anymore. I had a new mission.

* * *

When I opened the door, I immediately noticed that the room was amazingly nice.

Lavish decorations, a huge bed, and he was sitting in the corner, alone. And he had been waiting for me.

"My my, you're looking...ruffled. Care to share?" Ichimaru's tone came in cheerful, and I knew he didn't _really_ care.

"No." I spat, closing the door. He shrugged, not caring.

"Well, are you here for some reason then? People don't come in my room often...not of their own free will, anyway." That didn't comfort me, as he watched me march over. I kneeled on the floor then, and his smile disappeared in a surprised frown.

"Ichimaru-sama, I need your help. Whatever it is that you want to do, I'll do it. I don't care anymore. I hate that man." I spat, and the words were full of rage and hate. He seemed to adore that tone, because he tipped my chin up so I would look at him.

"Very nice of you to be so...respectful, but there's really no need. Such strong words though, I do wonder what he's done to you, poor little broken bird-"

"Don't." I pushed his hand away as he started to stroke my cheek, and he seemed to relent.

"Your loss, then. Now, why don't we seal this deal of ours?" I looked up, seeing him offering a hand to me. I was most definitely signing my life away at this moment, but I was so full of hate that I didn't care. It didn't matter anymore. I wanted Grimmjow Jeagerjaquez to pay.

So slowly, I grasped his icy cold hand and he pulled me to my feet.

"Y...yes, Ichimaru-sama. Let's." I had managed a grin, a dark one that promised nothing but ill will and hate. And his smile turned childish and cheerful as he clapped me on the back and stood up, walking towards the door.

"Well, cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war, then!" Ichimaru's tone was like the tinkling of bells now; he could switch between moods on a dime, it seemed. That's one of the reasons I didn't like being around him, too unpredictable. He walked towards the door, before holding a hand out to me with a smile quickly turning into something resembling a Cheshire Cat's smile. Mischevious. Insidious. Dangerous.

I returned one identical.

And then I walked to the door towards him, and I took his hand.


	31. Wrath, Spite, Vitriol

I know Grimmjow is gonna kill me for this one. And Ichimaru isn't going to protect me, because Ichimaru is a dick.

"Follow. Keep pace."

I roll my eyes, but he's walking in front of me, and the way he walks is militaristic at best. We walk into the hallway, where Grimmjow's reiatsu is hanging around, like he's lingering and waiting for nothing in particular, and when I look up at the bastard when we walk into view, I almost crack a grin at his dumbfounded look.

Yeah, Ichimaru fixed it up alright. He's pissed at Grimmjow, Grimmjow is pissed at me, and the man I'm walking behind is pissed at Grimmjow, and I'm pissed at Grimmjow too, and Grimmjow is pissed at Ichimaru, and…yeah, everyone is pissed off at everyone else. But what I'm doing here, this is a declaration of _war_.

I'm walking, very primly, behind Ulquiorra Cifer. Guess who my new Espada is? Yup, I'm a Fraccion now. Fucking eat it, Grimmjow. And damn, is he eating it; he looks like there's something rotting and dead in his mouth, because his eye is kind of twitching, and there's a look of revulsion on his mug. It'll turn to rage any second now.

Aaand…there it is. Rage. Vitriol. Pure, complete hatred. I walk by him, flashing a shit-eating grin for a second, before I kind of force my expression down to a disinterested stare, walking behind Ulquiorra again.

"Hey!" He snaps at our backs, and I carefully maneuver myself to stay behind Ulquiorra, respectfully. No doubt all this respect is pissing Grimmy-poo off to new heights. "What the fuck are you doing with him?" He growls, vivid blue eyes positively glowing with insanity as he's glaring through me, and I raise my eyebrows but don't say anything. Ulquiorra never gave me permission to speak, ya see. Yeah, I'm kind of being Ulquiorra's bitch and having to be all respectful and 'seen not heard' and shit, but whatever it takes to get back at Grimmjow.

Ulquiorra, bless his nonexistent black hole of a heart, gives Grimmjow this great 'You're a dumbshit' look, as he speaks in monotone.

"I am walking down a hallway. This," He kind of gestures to me, with his hand, "Is my new Fraccion. She is being silent, as I've told her to be."

Yeah, he's not using my name. I kind of don't care. Inju Zetsumei, 'woman'; what's the difference? I see him glance to me, a wordless order to follow, and I straighten up again, not even looking at Grimmjow as we begin to walk again. I see, out of my peripheral, that he's making a grab, a swipe, at me, and it passes harmlessly past the back of my neck. He won't attack me. He can't bring himself to do it when Ulquiorra is nearby, but I can almost feel the anger radiating off of him, and I know that he's going to wait until he can catch me alone.

Yeah…I'm going to die. But I'm going to make his afterlife hell until he kills me.

Ulquiorra walks for a…while. Patrolling, he says. Why, I don't know. We've got security things around here, don't we? Oh well. I'm allowed to be Ulquiorra's Fraccion, so I can't bitch. We walk for awhile, before we abruptly head to his room. There's Fraccion quarters right next door to it. I like the Espada hallway; it's very nice.

"Your room will be there," He tells me, in his dread monotone, pointing to the door beside his, "And I am next door. I will call you whenever I have need or use of you. You will do your duties without complaint and will finish them perfectly. You are encouraged not to allow the Sexta Espada to mutilate you. If your service is dissatisfactory, then I will either dismiss or kill you." He adds in that last part kind of suddenly, and I kind of blink at him. But then I nod. He turns around, and walks into his room. I walk into mine, and I freak out because it's super fucking nice.

Lots of nice furniture. Lots of it. Big bed, big couch, there's a white (of course) rug on the white floor, everything is white but I'm really used to that by now. All the white is super comforting instead of all the colors of the inside of a shinigami jail cell, at least.

First thing? I take a nap on my big bed.

Second thing? I walk around, and that aching in my chest is too painful to ignore. It's a tight knot in the middle of my chest, where the hole the center of my chest is, and I remember that Szayel said it was that I was hungry for souls. I need to go eat a hollow. Outside. When I ask Ulquiorra (he's just sitting in his chair in the corner of the room, waiting, really creepily) if I can go out, he says he doesn't care what I do as long as I'm on call when he needs me. Helpful. I crawl out my window to get out of Las Noches, because Grimmjow's reiatsu is linger around the front of the complex, and when I find a hollow, I really quickly learn that souls are things that you swallow whole. No chewing involved. I eat…a lot of them. Slaughtered 'em like animals, until I realized that though I felt almost full, no matter how many of them I ate, there was always a sliver of starvation in me somewhere.

There's always that sliver of starvation, and it hurts. A lot. But I ignore it, and I stroll back into Las Noches' front door, cockily. I walk through the doorway, and I know he's leaning against the wall by, because while I pass him I see two crazed spots of vivid blue in my peripheral vision. I don't look at him, though.

"So now you're Ulquiorra's whore?" Grimmjow spits. I smirk, flipping my hair out of my face. It's getting long.

"Jealous? And no; Ulquiorra's with Orihime, don'cha know?" I pop that last statement off, hands on my hips, a crooked smirk on my face, and he walks up towards me. I don't even budge, as courage and anger burns in that hollow space in my chest and makes the sword at my hip hum. He stands right beside me and leans in so close I can feel his hot breath on my neck and the side of my face, though I don't look at him.

"You think you're hot shit, don't you?" He growls in my ear, and I keep my face placid, though I'll never admit it and he'll never know, I _want_ him to hit me. I want him to just hit me, as hard as he can, and I don't even want to admit this to myself. "You think I won't kill you where you fucking stand?"

"I know you will. I know you want to." I tell him, and he finally does hit me, and it's hard enough to knock me to the floor. Grimmjow sets a foot on the middle of my back and presses, hard, and when he stomps on me, he thinks I squeal in pain.

Yeah…except it's not pain. He doesn't see the crooked grin on my face. Exhilarating. It's a fucking rush when he's so close to killing me right here and now. And not too long ago I'd be fighting for my life, spitting and snarling.

"You're a bitch, you know that?" He sounds…bored? Why the hell is he bored? I glare over my shoulder, pissed off.

"Yeah. And you're a _whore_ that blames me because you've got self-esteem issues." I snarl back, and I don't remember what happens next, because stars explode in my vision and I'm dizzy and laying on my back for some reason. I can't balance; I try to, but kind of fall over and flail on the floor for a minute before giving up, because he's towering over me, grinning, and puts his foot on my stomach and stomps. I spit, cough, gag, and it hurts. But…I sort of like it. Attention, I'm getting his attention, I'm making him mad, I'm his center of attention.

_I'm important_

"You're just begging me," He starts, crouching down and grabbing me by the hair, and he leans so close that our faces are inches apart, "to rip out your fucking tongue, aren't you?"

I'm too high off adrenaline to do something smart, and so I do something stupid instead. Something stupid like sticking my tongue out and licking his lips. He's fast, though, and the millisecond of surprise fades to something else, and he bites my goddamn tongue. When he does that, I sit there and stare for a moment, surprised, and there's a manic, sadistic glee in his eyes (which are really fucking close to mine) as he flicks his tongue across the tip of mine, and then proceeds to bite half of mine off.

"Smart ass," He starts, blood (my blood) running down his chin as he leans back slightly and spits half my tongue into my face, and I'm drooling, bubbling blood, and oh god it _hurts_, and when he grins and there's blood in his teeth, I remember why I first fell in lust with this animal. It was because he was this monstrous thing, a beast among beasts, and I was as naïve as I could have possibly been in my cynic's state.

I don't think I ever fell out of lust with the asshole. Still want him when he's this fucking crazy. That's sick, isn't it?

"Don't look so fucking surprised, you _whore_," He snarls down at me, as I just stare up in shock, hands over my mouth. "I thought you wanted tongue." He laughs raucously at that, turns around, and strolls off, while I find the other half of my tongue and stagger off towards Orihime. She'll fix me.

Why didn't Grimmjow kill me though? That's the huge fucking question. He wants to. He should have, after my little Fraccion trick with Ulquiorra. So why didn't he? Even though there's blood flooding down my chin, throat, and soaking into the front of my uniform, that's hardly a wound that's going to kill me.

He's probably torturing me just for shits and giggles. I know he is. And I'm going to get him back, too.


	32. Ichimaru's Schemes

**((Finally got a hold of a laptop I can use for teh smut. And that's exactly what's in this chapter. So, yeah.))****

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So, Grimmjow was, at this point, officially a whore. A dirty whore who I fucking hated.

"I'm finished, Inju," Orihime told me, after finishing healing up my mouth. I sat down in front of her, wiping at all the fucking blood staining my uniform and face, before looking up at her again.

"Thanks Orihime; sometimes, I'm sure I'd bleed to death without you." I wasn't kidding either. With all the trauma I was put through around here on a daily basis, it was obvious that I'd have needed a lot of help to not end up dead. I just wasn't as well-controlled as the other surviving hollows here seemed to be. Arrancar, I mean; they get bitchy when you don't call them Arrancar. She laughed a little, shaking her head.

"No no, Inju," She reassured me, laughing very softly, "You were fine before you met me, after all. You'd be fine."

I shook my head, but let it go and instead asked her, "So, Orihime; when did you and Ulquiorra get together?"

She sort of blushed then, and explained to me, with hand motions, that it had been her talking to him and him telling her to shut up, and her not stopping, and him finally giving up and listening to her. Then it had turned into something else from then on.

"Well, is he romantic? What's he say to make you feel better about yourself?" I asked.

"Um..." She replied, or at least, began to reply. "...He says it's Stockholm Syndrome."

I rolled my eyes. So romantic of him.

"That sounds just like Ukelala...I mean, Sir Cifer." I had to call him by his title now, I remembered. Besides, he might spear me through the face if he caught me calling him Ukelala. She laughed then, and it sounded genuine. I realized how exhausted her other laughs sounded now.

After that I left, more or less wandering. It'd been a little while since I got to Hueco Mundo again, and by then, Ichimaru had actually gotten ahold of alcohol. Don't ask me where he got it or how he got it, because I don't know, but he did and he gave me some. Well, a while back, but now I wanted it so I took the bottle he gave me. I'd hidden it in my room.

"Now where can I drink without someone showing up and being a fucker about wanting some?" I asked myself, still standing in my room. Then I looked at my window, and knew, instantly.

"Hah. The roof." Because who went on the roof anymore? Nobody went on the roof of Las Noches unless they were fighting, and that was only for the Espada, Cuatra rank and below. Or...above? Cuatra, Tercera, Segunda, Primera, and Cero, if Yammy ever got off his ass and did anything. They had to be outside the dome to do their release thing. So it was a good bet that I'd have peace and quiet up there.

I crawled out my window and sonido'd to the roof, making it up there. The roof was long and blank and clear. Too white to be comfortable. Almost looked like the roof was...well, milk, and you'd sink into it at any moment in time. I dropped right there, with my booze, and started drinking. The taste was a little off, but I didn't notice pretty quickly. It was so fucking cold up on that roof, but I didn't really notice it. I felt pretty warm, actually.

I didn't realize he was up there too until he fucking tripped me.

"What the-" I started, while falling mind you, and lost my grip on my booze. Hit the ground, because I was a liiiiitle bit drunk by then...maybe a little...and then rolled over, groaning and pissed. And there the fucker was, grinning at me, sitting down on the roof that looked like milk, and taking a huge fucking swig of _my_ booze.

"Grimmjow!" I spat, already humphing and marching over towards him. He was sprawled out like a big cat, drinking all my fucking booze, like I've said. "What the **fuck** do you think you're doing, _Sexta?"_

"I think I'm drinking your fucking booze, bitch," He told me, smirking, and I bristled. I stood at his left, and made a grab for my fucking sake, and he smirked and moved it juuust out of arm's reach. I made another grab, and another, and another, until I fucking tripped again and fell right on him. I was sprawled on his chest, face-to-face with him, and staring blankly. Both of us. And then, he grinned. I nearly spit in his face and, holding myself back for now, made another grab for the alcohol.

"Give it back, you cunt." I told him, ordered him really, and he laughed. Was he drunk? How much did he drink? A lot, I knew, but I didn't know how much.

"Come and take it." Grimmjow taunted, and I leaned over him to make another grab. Then I heard him snickering, and looked down at what was so fucking funny.

"What's so fucking funny?" I snapped. Then I saw him grinning, appreciatively, at the fact that I was straddling and at the same time leaning way over him, pretty much shoving my tits in his face. "You fucker," I snarled, moving to get off of him. I felt him grab the back of my uniform and pretty much slam me back down on top of him.

"Don't be such a bitch. You're gonna run off already?" He taunted, as I struggled to try and roll off of him, get up, get the fuck away.

"Yeah, I am, because you're a bastard," I snapped, but something was already off about me and how I felt. Warm...not warm, hot almost. And the feeling of his hand as he slipped it up the back of my shirt was...really weird. Almost nice. Grimmjow saw that, I think, because he kept his hand on my back, almost but not quite rubbing. Of course not. That would be nice, and Grimmjow is not nice. He's never been nice. I don't think he's even fucking capable of being nice.

"You ever notice that every sentence you say to me has you calling me something? A bastard or a fucker or a cunt?" He asked, and I didn't answer, staring down at his face this time. There was something there that looked...wild. Frenzied. "You keep fucking forgetting that I'm an Espada. A hell of a lot higher than Ulquiorra's Fraccion. Why don't you use some fucking respect?"

"Respect?" I snarled, and he just kept fucking grinning on, like he had some big secret that I'd never know. "What, you want me to call you 'Sir Sexta'?" I watched his face carefully, continuing my harsh glare. "You think I'll call you 'Master Grimmjow'? 'Lord Jeagerjaquez'? Well you can run off and play hide and go fuck yourself, because I ain't doing it."

Right about then, I realized he'd been a fucking lech and his hand was down the back of my hakama. But even the really soft touches he was doing felt...strong. Really strong. I leaned over, closer to his (now grinning) face, gritting my teeth and glaring at him.

"Lord Jeagerjaquez, I like that."

He caught me by the hair then, dragging me closer, pinning me right on top of him, all of my body against all of his. The heat was dizzying. He gave a really hard rub right then, right where he knew it counted, and I almost yelped. It turned into a growl.

"I think it's time you learned some fucking respect, Inju." He breathed in my ear, as I dug my nails into his shoulder. "You're always acting so fucking haughty. You think you're a goddamn queen? The closest thing to a queen Hueco Mundo has is that Inoue whore that Ulquiorra is fucking. You're nothing but a whore."

That was when I fucking reached up and punched him in the mouth. Pissed. I was so pissed.

"I am not a _fucking_ whore!" I screamed at him, right in his face. "Maybe if you weren't a jealous fuck, then you'd fucking realize that! Are you fucking _retarded_ or something??" Once I was done, he stared at me, not amused, not angry, just a stare.

"Don't believe you." He said this, point-blank, before I felt his fingers. And man, did I feel them. I did gasp then, because this was twenty times stronger than what I'd felt before, and while I was trying to figure it out, he took advantage of my distraction and caught that handful of my hair, jerking my head back painfully and running his tongue up my throat. The fact that his hands were heavily calloused from holding his sword just added to the friction. "Enjoying yourself?" He breathed into my ear, huskily.

"Why do you say that?" I groaned, jerking slightly with all his touches.

"Because you're grinding my hand like a bitch in heat." He was laughing, hotly and against my neck. I growled.

"You're the bitch in heat, Jeagerjaquez. I don't remember begging to fuck you, like all those Numero women do." I started, speaking breathily, but quickly. "Don't think the Arrancar don't know about all that rock star sex you have with four, five women at a time. You're the Whore of Las Noches."

I don't know if that pissed him off or amused him, but I think it might've pissed him off a little bit more, because to the two fingers he'd already worked into me, he shoved another one and it hurt. I yelped like a dog. Pretty sure he liked that.

"Oh, so you already know about that? Didn't you wanna join in?" Grimmjow teased, before pulling his fingers out and for a moment, I thought he was done, bored. A minute later, I felt really cold air on my thighs and saw him throw my pants over his shoulder, haphazardly.

"No," I snapped, twitching slightly. I heard ripping fabric as he tore off my underwear. "Hey, you know how hard it's going to be to get a new pair of those??" I snapped again, before he shoved his fingers in my mouth and shut me up.

"Shaddap. You do nothing but bitch bitch bitch bitch _bitch_. Did you know that?" I wasn't listening, staring at something off ahead of him. "All you do. I'm sick of it."

I wasn't listening. I was staring at what I knew was making me so whorish towards him. I knew, and I was pissed.

Gin Ichimaru fucking spiked my alcohol. I'm not sure if it was out of fun, or if he had something planned, or if he had planned this encounter with Grimmjow all along to make us quit fighting and make Grimmjow be less of a bitch to everyone. Either way, I was gonna kill him later.

"Pay attention." He didn't growl it, didn't bark it, but just...stated it. Calm-like. At that, I just fucking gave up. What the hell was the point of fighting it?

"Fine!" I screamed, at nothing at all, and surprising Grimmjow in the process. "You know what, I fucking give up!!" I shouted at absolutely nobody, maybe at Ichimaru and maybe at some intangible force that was playing the universe like a game and decided that this was a great way to use me. I looked back down at Grimmjow, sliding my way slowly backwards, staring him in the eyes. "You want to do this? Then fine, let's do this." I jerked down his hakama, and without thinking about it at all, took the bastard in my mouth.

Now it was almost funny, here. He wasn't expecting that, and gave a little jerk when I moved that fast. I gagged, but kept at it, making sure to scrape him with my teeth now and then. He didn't mind. The fucker loved it. I could tell, too, because he knotted his hand in my hair but let me do my thing. And what made me start humming around him was when I noticed that, from how his heels seemed to be scraping against the roof now and then, that _the bastard was curling his toes_. Was I really that good, or was he just hyped up on aphrodisiacs, like I was? Probably the second.

When I stopped, and he groaned with frustration at that, I grinned despite myself. It only lasted a moment though, because he glared at me as if about to ask, 'What the fuck?' Then he saw how I shoved him flat on his back and straddled him, preparing. And before I actually lowered myself onto him, I smirked and whispered exactly two words.

"I top."

It wasn't passionate, not really. Not even through how I dug my nails into his shoulders and arched my back, or how he dug his own nails into my hips and forced the pace faster and faster. It wasn't even passionate when he used one hand to keep stimulating me, and I bowed my head and practically screamed (damn Ichimaru and his drugs). It wasn't anywhere near passionate, or loving, or anything like that. We weren't 'making love'. We weren't 'soul-bonding'. We were fucking. Fucking like animals, and that's exactly what it was. Animalistic.

I came twice. Just once for him, because he was apparently a master of fucking. After I rolled off of him, tired and sweaty and so fucking fulfilled, I muttered, "It's cold out here."

"Suck it up, buttercup." I think I heard him murmur, and I knew he must've been drunk by then. "It's always cold in Hueco Mundo." And that's how we stayed, for a good long while, sleeping on the roof. Because it's different here than anywhere else.

In Seireitei, they make love.

On Earth, they have sex.

But in Hueco Mundo...we fuck.


End file.
